The Days After The Nights Before
by Elenhin
Summary: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can’t get out of there.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

The Days After The Night Before

Chapter 1: That ain't the way it usually looks…

Bo was feeling quite satisfied with himself as he headed home… even if it was much earlier than he usually headed home after a date. It was hardly even fully dark. On the other hand, it wasn't quantity that mattered but quality as he had heard someone say and boy had he had quality.

Kerry-Marie was what they meant when they talked about friendly southern girls. She might not be the prettiest one, more homely. She didn't dress in the short shorts and tiny tops that Daisy did. Yet she could always make you laugh, she was sweet to talk to and never objected to a cuddle.

Maybe she wasn't one he planned ahead to date, but if he ran into her, he never minded. So when he met her while running an afternoon errand, and had some time to spare, he didn't think twice about spending it with her.

There was nothing like going skinny dipping a hot day, and what a great time they had laughing and splashing at each other. Then when they were back out of the water, dry and dressed again they had cuddled some.

If she hadn't been forced to go home for her chores he doubted that they would have left yet… not considering the pleasant time they had been having. Times like this made you feel as if you were in love with the whole world.

That was until suddenly the whole world seemed to turn against you.

Dang it, he never even really had a chance to see where the other car came from. Not really, not before it shot out from a side road and slammed into his side. For all of his experience and fast reflexes, he didn't have time to do anything. The other car hit him at just the right point, or just the wrong point, to send him clear off the road.

All Bo saw was a vague image of a pale blue sedan speeding away, wavering back and fort all over the road, and then he didn't really notice the road anymore.

The water didn't do too much to soften the impact, and Bo got the wind knocked out of him as a fast trip came to an even more rapid end as the General dug his nose into the water of a small road side pond.

The water crashed over the General in a gigantic wave and he spluttered trying to draw a breath past it. Coughing on the water that had made washed over him through the window. Coughing one last time he reached his hands through the window to haul himself out and promptly screamed.

His hands spasmed and tightened their grip of the roof while he sobbed. Then as the shock of the pain faded he let go of the roof to figure out what was causing the pain. When he crashed into the pond, his left leg had in some way got trapped by the door. He looked out to take in the General and swallowed. The hood was bent and twisted upwards at an angle. The fender of the driver's side was a mess, one that went all the way to the door, and the door, the door was the worst. It was bent inwards, and that so that it had trapped his leg and that was not good. Welding the door had paid off, if they had not the door would have smashed right into him, but it still had pinned his leg.

Suddenly he felt all nauseated and ice cold all over. His leg was stuck, and that meant he was stuck. He struggled against the feeling of a revolting stomach. He was sitting with water all the way up to his neck, and his leg was stuck. There was no way for him to get out of the car.

Trying to keep himself from panicking he dug around frantically for the CB, he had to call for help, he had to get help. He needed to get help before he drowned. It wasn't until he held it in his hand that he realized that it had been submerged in water, and CB's and water don't mix well.

Still clutching the microphone desperately in his hand he panicked, screaming madly for someone to come and help him. It wasn't until his head dipped down into the water and he choked that he came to his senses again. Dropping the CB mike he started breathing deeply and concentrating on getting himself calm again… or as calm as he possibly could.

His leg hurt something fierce at first, but it quickly numbed. The water hadn't seemed too cold at first, but after some time it felt ice cold. He kept shouting for someone to help him every now and again, but there was never anyone close enough to hear.

It was one of the first times in his life when he actually found the darkness that was creeping in frightening. The last time he could remember that happening was the first night after Luke left for the Marines. He hadn't been scared exactly, but he didn't like it. Now he was more scared: frightened.

That night was the worst night in his life. He couldn't sleep. If he nodded off, his head dipped and he choked on the water. As the sun slowly started to set he tried to think of what Luke had told him. Panic was your worst enemy. As long as you didn't panic you would be fine. Luke had told him that, Luke never lied. If he could only keep himself from panicking he would be fine.

Breathing in deeply he looked out over the pond and the spreading sunset streaks of red and orange reflecting of the water. Even thought it was beautiful, he couldn't help sobbing once with fear. Then he had to get a grip of himself.

He had to calm himself, so he started reciting all the song lyrics he knew, mumbling them softly to himself. Waylon Jennings' 'Put Another Log On The Fire' that always made him smile no matter what. He took those first. _Put another log on the fire, cook me up some bacon and some beans. Go out to the car and change the tire, wash my socks and sew my ole blue jeans. Come on baby you can fill my pipe and then go fetch my slippers, and boil me up another pot of tea. Then put another log on the fire, babe, and come tell me why you're leaving me. _

Willie Nelson, Gone, Gone, Gone. _She said if I ever deceived her, She'd be gone before I could count ten. Well I guess that I didn't believe her, Cause look at the trouble I'm in. She's gone gone gone gone gone gone. Crying won't bring her back.  
The more that I cry, The faster the train flies, Further on down the track._

David Allan Coe, You Don't Even Call Me By My Name. _It was all that I could do to keep from cryin.' Sometimes it seems so useless to remain. You don't have to call me darlin', darling.' You never even call me by my name._

Mac Davis, It's Hard To Be Humble. _Oh Lord it's hard to be humble when you're perfect in every way. I can't wait to look in the mirror 'cause I get better lookin' each day. To know me is to love me I must be a hell of a man. Oh Lord it's hard to be humble but I'm doing the best that I can._

One more time he panicked, screaming at the top of his lungs for Luke to come and get him, for Uncle Jesse to make it stop hurting, and for Daisy to come to him. No one ever came, no matter how many times he cried out for them. It didn't matter what he shouted, they never came. He didn't stop screaming until he was panting and was so out of breath he couldn't manage a whisper.

As the moon shone a bright light over the water he once more remembered how Luke had told him the most important thing was to stay calm. He tried to call up Luke's voice in his head. To hear him say that he needed to feel close to Luke. Taking a deep breath he started mentally bringing up songs again, but this time he tried to recall how the chords went. His hands were trembling with the cold as he brought them up to play an imaginary guitar. Strumming out the chords ad he recalled all the Johnny Cash songs he loved so much. A Boy Named Sue, The Ballad Of Ira Hayes, The One On The Right Is On The Left, Sunday Morning Coming Down. Man In Black always made him smile in a sad way. It was beautiful what one man could say just about wearing black clothes. One Piece At A Time still made him smile even now. Who would think of getting a car out one piece at a time, and then try to put it together? Wreck of the Old '97 and he tried to swallow down a lump in his throat.

That was when he gave up. At least he gave up hope of getting out of there. Luke wasn't gonna come, and neither were his uncle Jesse. They weren't gonna come. They just weren't gonna come, and he was all alone.

Dew slowly started to form some time before dawn, and by now he was trying to recall the lyrics, the chords, anything to songs he couldn't really recall. Titles he had heard, songs that he had listened to only one or two times. He had heard Boxcar Willie once, and a song called I remember Roy Rogers. Jerry Reed, Oh, Lord Mr. Ford, and East Bound and Down. He couldn't recall who made Barrooms And Pop-A-Tops, nor most of the words, but he loved it. He tried to sing them to himself to quench his fears, but he was still so afraid.

By the time the sun returned and made the darkness of the night pack up and leave he wasn't screaming for them anymore. He wasn't doing very much of anything. He couldn't really be bothered to anymore. He hardly even felt the cold. He didn't really care anymore, not about anything. Not even enough to want Luke to come and get him. He just didn't care anymore.

/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/

To say that Rosco was surprised to see the General Lee sitting half way in the pond when he went on morning patrol was to not really saying enough. Of course it wasn't the first time he'd seen the General having gone off the road, but normally Cooter would be there within minutes to haul it off to his garage. To see him sitting there, with no Dukes, and no tow truck in sight was unusual.

He decided to get out and check it out though, if nothing else he could give them a parking ticket. Cars where not supposed to be parked in the pond after all.

Giggling to himself he told Flash to stay put and guard the police car as he walked over to the General Lee. It wasn't every day that he got a chance to write out a ticket on the General without them objecting and arguing.

It wasn't this day either.

After seeing a mop of blond hair in the drivers side window he couldn't have cared less about writing a parking ticket, not even if he had remembered his intent of doing it.

"Bo!" He ran out into the water and grabbed the door by the window. It was Bo alright, and his head dipped down a little as he heard Rosco's voice. Coughing weakly as he got water into his mouth.

"Bo, what are ya doing, Bo?" Rosco demanded, reaching in a hand and tilting his face to look at him. "Gotta get ya out o' here."

"Can't." Bo managed weakly.

"Where's Luke?" Rosco demanded, only now reacting to the fact that he wasn't in the car as well. "Bo, where's Luke?"

"Home," Bo's head dipped again, talking and keeping his head up at the same time was more than he could manage. However Rosco's hand kept it from dipping beneath the surface. "Called for 'im, didn't come."

"Are ya alone?" It made him very worried the way Bo hardly seemed to be aware of what was happening. He just nodded, and Rosco could only hope he was alone, and that Luke wasn't in the pond somewhere.

"Bo, stay awake ya here?" He told him in a commanding voice. "Stay awake, an' don't ya dare drown, or I'll cuff ya an' stuff ya. Ya hear that?" He had to get back to his patrol car and call Cooter to come and drag the General out of the pond as well as an ambulance. Bo had to go to the hospital. That much was evident, but if Cooter didn't come and get the car out of the water, they couldn't get Bo out. Cooter and his tools were the only way to get Bo out of there. If they didn't get him out, the ambulance wouldn't do any good. He told Cooter to bring whatever he needed to get a door open, and to be fast, and then told the ambulance where it was needed. After that he rushed back to the car.

Bo still had the same blank look upon his face, and he was cold to the touch. He swallowed and reached in his hands to steady Bo's head in the water. It seemed to be lolling on his shoulders, and Rosco was worried he had been on the verge of drowning.

"How long have ya been here Bo?" He asked softly.

"Cold, want Luke, s'cold." Bo whimpered softly.

Rosco swallowed. "We'll git ya outta here Bo. We'll git ya outta here don't ya worry." He told Bo not to worry, but he was worried, very worried. He had never seen Bo like that before. Even he knew that Bo was the far more emotional of the Duke boys. There had been times when Bo was trying to convince him of something when he hung his head and his voice got thick. Luke never did that. He had just never seen Bo so out of it that he was whimpering like a frightened child while he was just sitting there.

Something had to be very wrong since he hadn't gotten himself out of there yet. Them two boys always wrecked that car, but they always climbed out of it as well. They always climbed out of there, unscathed, always. He looked at Bo again. He didn't climb out and he wasn't unscathed… he just wasn't.

He looked up and swallowed as he heard the tow truck coming, and saw Cooter grin as he got out. He always grinned when he saw what the Duke boys had done to the General. Grinned even as he hooked his tow truck to it and pulled them out from wherever they had gotten themselves stuck.

He grinned as he headed over to the General.

He stopped grinning as he looked into the car.

**_"If what that boy saw is what I think he saw, then I sure wouldn't be grinning either. Ain't no sight fer a friend too see."_**


	2. Getting A Friend Out Of The Pond

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

**The Days After The Night Before**

Chapter 2: _**Getting A Friend Out Of The Pond.**_

"What's happened to him Rosco!" Cooter cried out as he saw him. "What happened? Where's Luke?"

Rosco swallowed and shook his head. "I don't know Cooter, I really don't know. I just came and saw the General in the pond. We gotta get him up now."

Cooter just stood there for a moment. He couldn't even remember what he was supposed to do. Then he saw Bo's head loll in Rosco's hands and years experience of towing cars kicked in. He got back into the tow truck's cab and got it into line with the General Lee. Getting out and attaching the car he then slowly proceeded to haul him out of the water.

Water was streaming out of every hole in the car, slowly draining out while Rosco kept his pace to help keep Bo's head steady.

Looking grimmer than Roscoe could ever recall seeing him Cooter got back out of the cab again. Looking at the General and wondering how to get Bo out of there. He pushed Rosco aside and looked in, feeling sick to his stomach as he saw how Bo's leg was trapped by the bent metal of the door. That was it. He needed to get the door off. There was no way he could free his leg if he didn't get the door off.

Cooter looked at the door, and how it trapped Bo's leg. It was welded shut, and if it hadn't been it would most likely have killed Bo. It had made enough resistance to the force of the blow that it had saved Bo's life. Still, the welded seams had broken and just about given, and it was really the bent metal that still held it in place.

The ambulance arrived, but they saw that there was nothing for them to do before the victim was out of the car, and stood back long enough for the mechanic to work.

Cooter needed to get it off fast, so he brought the tow truck in line with the driver's side of the General, hooked the wire on the door, and pulled it lose. The door came lose with a shriek of metal. It worried him how Bo barely seemed to pay any heed to it, even though it would have had to hurt something fierce.

As soon as Bo was free he was pushed aside by the ambulance attendants who didn't care if it was one of his best friends. They just brushed him aside and ignored him, and Cooter stood there with one hand on the General. It was two members of the Duke family hurt in the crash. One he could haul off to his Garage and fix, but the other, the other he had to trust someone else to take care of… someone he didn't know and it wasn't easy.

They wouldn't let him go with them either- only family. What did they know about that anyway. He patted the cool metal of the General with one hand as watched the ambulance go away. "Bet they wouldn't let ya go with them either in there, and ya sure's family as well."

He noted how Rosco stood dumbfounded and stared down the road as if he couldn't believe it either.

"Rosco." There was no reaction and Cooter shook his head. "Rosco." This time the sheriff turned to look at him. "Rosco, have ya told the Duke's?"

Rosco shook his head and Cooter sighed inwards. It meant that he would be the one who told them. Well, he guessed he would have to. They needed to know, they needed to know so they could get to the hospital.

"I'll go over there and tell them," he sighed.

The look he got from Rosco was one he had hardly ever gotten from him before. It was full of concern, worry, and confusion: nothing like he was used to it being. "Thank you Cooter," Rosco said softly.

Cooter nodded, not up to exchanging pleasantries. He had to perform one of the worst duties he had even been forced to do.

When he pulled up at the Duke farm Luke was crossing the yard over to the barn, and he shouted a greeting even as Cooter turned off the engine.

"Hey Cooter, what mess did Bo get himself into now?" he asked. The last he had seen of his cousin he had disappeared with some girl. Since he had not yet come home he figured he had been having a great time, and had better be ready to take the consequences for it from their uncle. He could see how the front end of the General had taken quite a pounding, even if he was coming up on the passenger side. Yet the missing door and the way the driver's side looked escaped him.

"Cooter?" Luke added when Cooter didn't say anything. If Bo had wound up wrecking the General, and had been reduced to walking to get Cooter, then the mechanic would have been laughing heartily as he jumped out of the cab. The fact that Cooter looked as if had just lost his best friend in the world made Luke plumb terrified.

"Cooter, what's happened?" he demanded. "Cooter!"

Cooter took a deep shuddering breath. "Rosco called me over to pull the General out of the pond. Now I thought y'all had gone and done run him in there, but, when I got there, Bo, he was still inside."

The heartbroken look on Cooter's face was exactly how Luke felt at hearing those words. Like if someone broke his heart. He couldn't believe it.

"Cooter, he, was he?" He couldn't even bring himself to voice the question.

"He was still alive." Cooter managed. "He was bad, real bad but he was still alive. They, they wouldn't let me go with them, or tell me anything, cause I wasn't family. They just hauled him away Luke, and I couldn't do nothing." Tears crept to his eyes and Luke draped an arm around his shoulders.

"We'll go there now Cooter, we'll go there now." He looked around realizing that Jesse had the pick up and Daisy had her Jeep. The General wasn't going anywhere. "Cooter, drop the General down here, we need to take your truck."

Cooter nodded, once more doing his work without thinking. He dropped down the General before the two of them climbed into the truck and took off down the road.

On the way to the hospital Cooter tried once more to explain what had happened, at least as much as he knew of it. It wasn't very much, and Luke felt too torn up inside to pay too much attention to what he said anyway.

They arrived at the hospital and Luke felt just about ready to beat his fist at the wall. No one would tell them anything… only to sit down and wait. Cousin and best friend wasn't enough. There was no one to tell them anything. If they could have some closer family maybe they could find someone who could tell them where he was. That was just it, they were still working on him, and they just had to get a closer relative if they were going to bother a doctor with explaining things to them. If they would just please sit down and wait everything would be alright. In the meantime a parent or a sibling would be most helpful.

Luke wanted to shout at them that there was no parent, there were no siblings. There were no one closer to Bo than he was, but they wouldn't listen to anything he said. Why would they listen to anything he shouted?

Cooter stood trying to reason with them, tried to tell them that he and Luke needed to know what had happened to Bo. Luke went over to him shaking his head.

"It ain't no use Cooter, it just ain't no use," he sighed.

"But Luke, they've got to tell us," Cooter insisted.

Luke shook his head again. "No, we gotta get Uncle Jesse over here. He's Bo's legal guardian. They have to tell him. We have to get him over here, or they won't tell us anything." He motioned for Cooter to follow him out to the tow truck again using the CB to get a hold of their Uncle Jesse.

**_"At least they got the boy out of that there pond, and I fer sure feel a whole lot better knowing them to boys are getting their Uncle Jesse over there. But I ain't gonna start smiling again afore I know that boy's gonna be alright…."_**


	3. If you would all kindly wait…

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

**The Days After The Night Before**

Chapter 3: _**If you would all kindly wait…..**_

Once Jesse got there, they finally found out that Bo was still waiting for treatment in the ER. Not much more than that, but at least they admitted to that much. They had evaluated the seriousness of the injury, and would shortly take care of his leg. At least Jesse got a promise that if they sat down someone would come to them and show them to where he was so that they could wait with him.

It was more than Luke and Cooter had been able to get, and it made Jesse angry that they couldn't have seen fit to tell them as much.

It was a bit more than just a few minutes before a nurse came and showed them to a small curtained off area in the ER room where Bo was. If he hadn't been so desperate to see Bo, Jesse would have given them a tongue lashing about what he thought their promise was worth.

They were told that because the ER was extremely busy at the moment, Bo with a not to severe injury would be forced to wait until they could take care of him. However they would be allowed to wait with him, to comfort him before they could take care of his leg and set it.

It didn't help much to hear he was fine, a broken bone, he had been in the water for a long time though. Don't expect him to know what's going on; don't be surprised if he seems a slight bit confused, don't be alarmed if he doesn't seem very responsive. It's perfectly normal for his condition. He was lucky, it could have been far worse. Only to be expected the way some country boys drive.

What right did they have to say that? The last thing was said as they left the room and the left two Dukes and one Davenport alone with their kin. Cooter just caught it, and felt inclined to give them a piece of his mind for it.

What did they know anyway?

He didn't though, he wouldn't, because he was not about to leave the room at this moment.

Bo was so pale. Oh lord how pale he was! Luke was white as a ghost from the shock, from fear for his cousin, but still how much paler Bo was. Jesse sat on the other side of the bed. Grim, nothing at all like the old man Cooter loved dearly. He looked like a man who was just a fraction of an inch from reaching the limit of what he could take. Seeing those two boys in trouble of any kind, seeing them hurt always wore so hard at Jesse.

How many times had Cooter seen that?

He had watched when Bo was just a kid, about knee high to a grasshopper. Bo was just a small child and so when he hurt himself only his uncle was good enough to comfort him. When Bo fell out of the tree and broke his arm. He was clinging to his uncle, and the look of Jesse's face was so sad. Because there was no way he could just magically take all the pain away from his young nephew.

It never changed when they grew: never, Cooter had been there so many times when something was wrong in the Duke family. Boss Hogg never even bothered to count him separately to the Dukes anymore. They were all the same to him. He was there when Boss Hogg used hypnosis to lure Luke to get rid of the General. He was there when Bo had temporary amnesia and Boss Hogg tricked him into running shine. He was there when Bo went missing and no one knew where to find him. When the two boys and Daisy were just going to help a retiring moon shiner, and it had been one of the worst times ever.

They had always gotten through it sure enough, but it cut just as deep every time he saw Jesse suffering like that from it.

Cooter stood beside the chair where Jesse sat. Bo seemed to be asleep, he hoped that he was. He hoped that he was asleep because he was just so afraid that if he was awake he would just be in so much pain. Because as long as Bo was asleep he could pretend that it was nothing more than that. It was when he saw the pain in Bo's eyes that he couldn't pretend that anymore, and he hated that. He nearly turned around rather than see that. It just wasn't possible, he couldn't do that Bo.

"Uncle Jesse."

The voice was quiet, a mere whisper. Not at all like what Cooter was used to hearing from him.

"I'm here Bo, I'm here." Jesse wrapped both his hands around the one he had been holding.

"Don't go." Bo squeezed his eyes shut as soon as he had uttered the words.

"I'm not going anywhere." Jesse said softly. "Luke's here too, Bo and Cooter, and we ain't going nowhere."

Bo didn't answer. He said nothing more for a long time… long enough that the silence worried Cooter. Bo wasn't sleeping. He could tell by the occasional groan and whimper. He wasn't sleeping. He was just plumb worn out and terrified, too badly shaken to say anything. The doctors might claim that it was all well and normal, but it wasn't. It was far from normal for either of the Duke boys.

"What happened, Bo?" It was Luke who finally broke the silence once Bo opened his eyes again. "Can ya tell us?" No demand, he could never do that to Bo. He wanted to know, he needed to know, but he could never put a demand like that on him.

"He hit me, an' I couldn't do anything. I never even saw 'im. Just ran me off the road." There were three sharp of intakes in the room, as three people found the news equally disturbing. They had been prepared to hear about most anything, going just a tad too fast, a flat tire at the wrong time. Cooter had even dreaded to hear that it was one of his repairs that had failed at a critical time. Just not that someone had run him off the road.

"When was it?" Luke asked, hating himself for voicing the question. He didn't think he could stand to hear the answer.

"Last night when I headed home," Bo turned to him. "He just ran me off the road and kept going, an' I couldn't do nothing. I couldn't get out Luke."

Luke didn't know what to say. He just clasped Bo's free hands in his own.

"Ya ain't gonna go are ya?" Bo turned pleading eyes to them. "Please promise me y'all ain't gonna go."

"Bo, they're gonna have to force us to leave here." Cooter said grimly. "Ain't no way we're leaving out of our own free will. We won't until they get back here an' take care of ya."

Bo closed his eyes for a moment. "I was alone there the whole night, an' I thought I wasn't gonna make it. There was water everywhere, an' I couldn't get out."

"It's gonna be okay now Bo, you's safe now." Jesse lifted the hand he held to clutched it to his chest. "It's all over now."

Bo turned moist eyes to him. "I'm cold Uncle Jesse, an' it hurts real bad." It didn't feel like it could be okay when he still felt as if he was so cold, and when it still hurt so much.

Jesse nodded looking around the room to see if there was another blanket close by, but he couldn't spot a single one. He looked over at his oldest nephew. "Luke, could ya go see if ya can make someone git the boy an extra blanket?" He could see how Bo was starting to shiver slightly.

"Sure thing Uncle Jesse." Luke nodded as he got up and went to find one. While he was gone Cooter took the chair he had vacated. Bo clung on to Jesse until Luke returned and told them no one had told him where he could get a blanket for his cousin.

"They just told me that someone would be here to check on him, an' they'd get him one then if he needed it." Luke reported.

"That ain't exactly helpful." Cooter stated. He was just about fed up with how the hospital staff had been acting.

Luke shrugged. "All I could do unless I wanted to start looking around in cabinets to see where they keep them. I asked them to get someone here to look at him then, and all they'd say was that I needn't worry and someone surely would."

Jesse nodded grimly, "They would say that." He frowned as Bo was still shivering, obviously still cold. The boys eyes were moist, as if he was barely keeping himself from crying. Considering what he had been through Jesse couldn't blame him. He couldn't imagine the horror of being stuck in a car, up to your neck in water, for a whole night. Bo was shivering now, biting at his lower lip as if he tried to be brave about it. He would try that Jesse thought. He always tried to be brave no matter what, even when he turned to Luke or himself for guidance.

Ah he wished that he could just take away that fear out of his eyes. He tried to chafe some warmth into the hand he was holding, hoping to give him at least some warmth back. Bo turned those big puppy eyes of his to his uncle. Oh the lord knew how he had perfected that look through the years. There wasn't a housewife in the county that was ever able to resist giving him a cookie when he turned that look to them. It always annoyed Luke that Daisy was the cute little girl, and that Bo had that puppy eyed look that worked so well for him. No matter if Jesse pointed out to him that Bo wasn't really doing it consciously, and that when they gave him a cookie, they always gave Luke one as well.

"It's so cold Uncle Jesse." Bo whimpered. "I'm so cold."

"I know, Bo, I know." Jesse shook his head. "An' I'll be danged if they's gonna tell me I ain't gonna worry about it." He laid down Bo's hand and pushed himself to his feet. "What kind a place is this if they can't even get ya a blanket?" He turned to Luke. "Ya keep an close eye at him now, an' I'll have me a talk with them."

Luke nodded gratefully. It would take a brave doc to tell Jesse he needn't worry the way they had told him.

Three arguments and one calm reasoning later Jesse returned carrying a blanket over his arm, muttering about the stupidity of some people at the same time as he draped it over Bo with extreme tenderness.

"There, ya'll be warm soon," he said softly, "nn' I'm here to watch over ya."

Bo nodded. He still felt ice cold. The blanket hadn't had time to help him warm up yet. His fingers and toes were so cold he could hardly feel them. His feet were worse, because with his uncle holding his hand at least he could feel that warmth. In truth he couldn't feel much more than pain in his broken leg either, and he didn't like it. It was all still just as frightening, and for a moment all he could do once more was to keep himself from panicking was to think of music. He got two mumbled lines on '_He Stopped Loving Her Today_' before he realized they were giving him odd looks. He shook his head trying to clear it.

"I'm still scared," he admitted, looking up at this uncle.

Jesse nodded. He hadn't really expected anything else. Why Bo was mumbling out random lyrics he wasn't quite sure, but he didn't doubt that Bo had a reason for it. "It's okay Bo," he said softly. "It's okay ta be scared."

Bo shook his head. "I don't wanna."

"I know Bo, I know ya don't want ta be scared. But it's okay ta." Jesse took the hand he was holding and wrapped his other hand around those cold fingers. "Ya had something really bad happen to ya, an' we all feel so very sorry for ya."

Bo nodded slowly. "How's, how's the General?" He asked wanting to focus on something other than his cold limbs and the fear that still clutched at his stomach.

"The General's fine." Cooter grinned. "I hung him up ta dry, an' as soon as we take him down, we'll have him as good as new in no time."

"Ya can fix him then?"

"Oh yeah, good as new in no time." Cooter grinned.

He really was no help, Bo had hoped to lose his fear in a talk of crankshafts and spark plugs, hammering out dents and cleaning out the carburetor. He wanted to be distracted from what had happened to him, and just hearing Cooter say it would be good as new didn't help any.

He tried to ask them about the chores that had to be done, but instead of telling him about them Jesse only told him not to worry about it.

It almost seemed as if his uncle wanted him to think about his pain and fear for some reason he couldn't even understand. He wasn't getting any warmer either, and everything just added to his misery. He gave Luke a pleading look, but it seemed he didn't understand either.

It was all good and well for Jesse to sit there and assure him as he held his hand, and he didn't know what he would have done without him there. Most certainly he would have either been screaming his throat raw, or gone over to list all the words to all the Dolly Parton songs, even thought that was really Daisy's thing to do.

It was just that the reassurances weren't any good anymore. Jesse told him that he would be fine, but that didn't stop it hurting. Luke assured him that everything would be okay, but he was still so very horribly cold. Cooter said that it was all over, but he was still terrified.

He just couldn't take it anymore. His uncle tried to reassure him again, but it was just too much. He wanted to pull away where he wouldn't hear them anymore, somewhere so far away that they couldn't reach him, where he would never feel the fear or the pain again. He wanted to just curl up and shut out the world, but something inside him told him that it would be a mistake. Instead he directed the frustration outwards. Pulled his hand loose from his uncle's hand.

"No, it ain't all okay!" He shouted angrily at them. "I ain't okay! It hurts so bad, an' I'm so cold! I ain't okay, I'm scared, an' I want it ta stop hurting, an' I don't want to be so dang cold!"

**"Well, I can't say I blame the boy, an' I ain't gonna either. I reckon if I were him I'd be feeling exactly the same way. At least now he's got his family there to take care of him."**


	4. Feeling better to be home

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

**The Days After The Night Before**

Chapter 4: **_Feeling better to be home_**

Jesse was taken aback by the outburst at first. It was nothing like his youngest boy at all. Yet the tears slowly making their way down his face showed just how bad Bo was feeling and obviously mere words wasn't enough to comfort him.

Not saying anything he gathered Bo up in his arms as well as he possibly could. Maybe it hurt to have his body moved, but sitting there and doing nothing would be hurting him far more. Embracing him at least let Bo feel for real that they were there for him. The boy was terrified alright, trembling in his arms and it made Jesse's old heart break.

"It's still so very cold an' it hurts so bad," Bo whimpered quietly, soaking up the embrace.

Luke got up and leaned in past his uncle to drape an arm around Bo's shoulder. "Do ya want me to find a doc?" He asked slowly. Not that they had been very accommodating so far, but if Bo wanted it, Luke wouldn't give up until he was able to drag one over to him.

"No," Bo shook his head forcefully. He didn't want them to leave him. If a doctor came to prod and poke at him he would make his uncle and his cousin leave so he could do it. He didn't want that. That was the last thing he wanted. "I want to go home Uncle Jesse." If he was home, he could curl up on the couch with a blanket, and they could light a fire if he was still cold after that.

He could crawl down in his bed and steal the blanket from Luke's bed as well as his own. He wouldn't mind: not now he wouldn't mind. Luke would sit down and play checkers with him to keep him company, and given how cold he felt Jesse would surely make him some tea to warm him. That was what he wanted.

Jesse reached up one hand to smooth down the blond locks. "Ya's can't go home just yet me boy. We's need ta make sure ya's okay first." He said softly, in truth wanting nothing more than to carry him out to the truck and take him right home the very same instant.

Bo shook his head again. "I ain't gonna be okay here Uncle Jesse. I wanna go home."

Jesse nodded slowly. "Ya's gonna have ta be brave an' strong fer me Bo," he said ruefully. "I can't take ya home afore they take care of ya. I couldn't do that to ya. I could hurt ya so bad if I did. Ya's gonna have ta be brave an' wait till we can take ya home safely."

Bo ducked down his head. It wasn't what he wanted to hear. Being told that he had to stay in a cold hospital ER room, knowing how lonely it would be when they all left, that was not what he wanted, not at all.

Jesse tried to sooth him by stroking his hair, but it was doing little good and he knew it. He just couldn't take the boy home just yet. Not before they set his leg and made sure that there was nothing else wrong with him.

"Soon as they say it's safe ta do it, we's ain't gonna waste a minute getting ya home," he promised. "Ya's just gonna have ta wait till then."

When he finally had gotten Bo calm enough so that the boy fell asleep, the doctor showed up to take a look at him, promptly waking him up from the slumber. To make matters worse they were all made to leave while Bo was taken to treatment: perfectly understandable to the staff that the family couldn't go along, but not to a young man who was already scared out of his mind.

Bo was begging for them not to leave him as he was taken away, and Jesse felt how his heart was broken anew. He put an arm over Luke's shoulders and one around Cooter's back. They felt the same way as he did about it.

Then they had to wait again which was not really any surprise to them. It was several trips to the coffee machine before they were told that Bo was treated and just about ready to go home. The staff told Jesse he was in the orthopedics, and that they could go there to get him.

Regretfully they did not tell him how to find it, only to follow the signs that seemed to take of into every direction at the same time. They had to stop various staff members three times to ask for further directions, and still got lost a total of five times before they found Bo.

Thanks to the painkiller he was much calmer: some of it because he was no longer in as much pain and some of it because it was numbing. Still, as soon as he caught sight of them he pushed himself up to sitting in the bed, asking if he was finally going to be allowed to go home. Jesse assured him while he signed the paper work for the bill and all. Luke and Cooter then helped Bo into the wheelchair that they insisted they used to take him to the truck.

Cooter was pushing the wheelchair, allowing Bo to grab a hold of Luke's hand, forcing him to walk slightly bent forward which was something he didn't mind. He was also carrying the crutches that they had been given for Bo to use when he got home. Jesse was walking in front of them looking at the papers they had pushed into his hands, frowning over what would be important and what would not. The prescription for some pain killers sure was important. They would have to stop by the pharmacy on the way home.

Wanting to waste no time on the way home Jesse actually gave Cooter the prescription and asked him to get it filled, making it possible for him and Luke to head straight for home. By the time Cooter came back they already had Bo settled on the couch. Luke had gotten both his own and Bo's pillow for him. So that he was leaning against the wall at the end of the couch. Then he had searched out pretty much every single blanket they had in the house for him.

He had helped Bo to exchange his clothes for his pajama because it would make him more comfortable. The legs on it were actually wide enough to go over the cast without them having to call on Daisy's sewing skills. Luke had also dug out an old flannel undershirt to keep him warm as well. He then spread out the blankets over him, trying to make sure he was covered as much as possible.

He had settled down on the few spare inches beside Bo to keep one arm behind his back, and the other over him, letting him feel how Luke was close by to keep him safe.

Cooter put the small bottle of pills down on the coffee table before he moved to hunch down beside them. "How ya doing buddyro?" he asked softly.

"I's cold." Bo still felt hardly any warmer at all. He felt better being home, much better, but he was still cold. His whole left leg was numb, but his right let him know how his toes still felt like ice, his fingers just barely warmer.

"Uncle Jesse's making some tea." Luke said soothingly. He had told Luke he would find something else to help warm him as well. They didn't have a hot water bottle, but there were other ways. Jesse came in from the kitchen carrying a tea mug and a cloth bundle. He handed the mug to Luke then he smiled as he hefted the bundle.

"Hot brick," he smiled as he lifted up the blankets and placed it by Bo's feet. Luke smiled back at him and nodded while he helped Bo drink the tea. "That should help ya warm up soon," he smiled at Bo and patted his hair.

Bo tried to smile, but it was only the corners of his mouth moving, and his eyes were still big and filled with pain. He had sneaked out an arm to hold the mug, but his hand was shaking so bad Luke still held it with him.

"Feel any better?" Jesse asked softly.

"Little." Bo looked up at him, but Jesse wasn't so sure. It sounded more like if Bo said it because he knew it was what Jesse wanted to hear, and he tried to make himself feel better so he could say it. He hadn't really expected him to feel magically better as soon as he got home. He needed to get his warmth back, and he would need some care and attention for that. He wasn't sure if he would even start feeling a lot better before nightfall, even if that was a long time away.

"I got a pot of chicken soup for ya started out there." He told him softly. "I reckon ya need to get something in ya belly as well." He stroked his hair again. "Ya mightn't feel any better yet, but ya will. I promise."

Bo nodded even thought he wasn't really hungry. He suspected that his uncle was right though, he usually was. Before his foot had been all numb with the cold, but now he could feel how he was pressing it against the cloth wrapped brick. He hoped that it wouldn't start hurting like crazy when he started getting warm again, like it did at times. It had been hurting enough. The tea did help some, and he was really grateful for having Luke next to him. He leaned into him headless to the fact that Luke was forced to brace himself with one foot against the floor to keep from falling of the couch. Luke was warm too, so now that the tea mug was empty Bo tried to use him to warm his hand. Luke had his arm over his chest again, so Bo tucked his hand in between Luke's arm and chest. His hands no longer felt ice cold in the same way, but Luke felt really, really warm compared to him.

Luke pulled up the blanket more to cover him when he shifted. If he was warming up beneath them, he didn't want any of that warmth to escape. At the same, Bo kept shifting trying to soak up as much of Luke's warmth as possible.

Smiling at him Luke took his hand and brought it in under the blanket, still holding it, but under the blanket. It meant he wound up having his own arms under it, but it also made Bo look a slight bit better. Luke would guess it was because of the closeness as much as the warmth.

They would have to deal more with this later. If Bo had been run of the road like he said, then they needed to report it. Rosco never seemed to care much about what happened to Dukes, but not even he wanted a hit-and-run driver like that on the lose. Whoever was cold hearted enough to leave a car in a pond, and not make sure the driver was alright could do much worse.

Warming up a bit more Bo started feeling sleepy. He hadn't slept any during the night, since he only got a mouth full of water if he nodded off. Now he allowed his eyes to drift half closed. Yet the very first moment of sleep carried with it the impression of cold water and he jerked awake gasping for air.

"Bo? Ya okay Bo?"

Bo looked up and met his cousins worried look, no water, only Luke. Determining that fact he fell asleep again.

"He's out like a light." Cooter grinned.

"Yeah, and he needs it." Luke agreed as he shifted, trying to find a position where he could support Bo, without risking himself falling down from the couch. Now that he was asleep Bo didn't stir even the slightest. Not even when Luke lifted him up to slide in under him. He turned back towards the kitchen. "Uncle Jesse, what do ya think's gonna happen if we call Rosco and tell him we want to file a report?"

Jesse sighed. "Ya can never tell with Rosco, He was a good police man once, really good, but J.D got him turned to be more crooked than a crooked nail."

"If he ain't gonna do nothing, we're gonna do it," Cooter stated. "We can't let whoever did that get away with it." He shook his head as he recalled the first look into the General after he got there. "But I'm telling ya, that look on Rosco's face… I ain't never seen him look like that 'afore. He, he looked like if it was his friend he found there." He paused as he tried to find the right words, but then he gave up. The Dukes cared nothing if he couldn't get the best words. "I think that he was really upset about it. He was standing there an' holding his head up cause of the water, and he just seemed as if he, like if someone had gone and hurt Flash," he finished.

Luke nodded, "Maybe he'll listen to us for once."

Jesse came over to them and smoothed down his youngest's mop of blond hair with a fond smile and a gentle hand. "I'll go out ta the barn an' take care of Maudine. If he wakes up, the chicken soup's on the stove. Ya can just give him some."

"Will do Uncle Jesse," Cooter answered as he sank down in the armchair next to the couch. Keeping vigil Jesse thought as he left the room. There were times when he let Cooter calling him 'Uncle Jesse' pass without saying anything about it. There were times when he would be gruff about it and tell him that if there were one thing he was not, it was Cooter's 'Uncle Jesse.' There were other times when Cooter was as much a part of the family as any of the three kids he had raised. Those times, there was nothing Cooter could call him that would make him any more proud of knowing the scruffy mechanic. If anyone came after the two boys at this moment, they would have to get through Cooter first. Even if it would be gun against crankshaft, Jesse had no doubt of who would turn tail and flee.

He fed Maudine and brushed down her coat, taking comfort in the familiar task. He was debating whether he should call Daisy at work or not. J.D would more likely than not let her off early, so all the good it would do would make her worry through the whole day. She would be upset to find out they didn't call her when she got home, but it was still better than having her work herself up into a frenzy over something she couldn't do anything about anyway.

He was just heading back up to the house when he saw a police car pull up. Seeing Rosco's patrol car always had him wondering; just what mess his boys had gotten into this time, what scheme J.D was trying to pull, and what he would be able to do about it. Given the current situation he could eliminate the question about the boys, but he still was worried that J.D would be trying to gain something from it. If he had sent out Rosco to give Bo a ticket for illegal fishing methods, or for having ignored some 'no swimming' sign he was going to have some serious things to say to him. The thing that worried him the mist was that he kind of expected it from J.D.

He stood there and waited while Rosco slowly climbed out of the car, holding Flash in his arms and talking to her.

**"Ya know, I wouldn't think that Rosco would do that to a poor lad just got hurt, give him a ticket for swimming where it wasn't allowed, it's just that with a Sheriff like Rosco it can be mighty hard ta tell from time to time…"**


	5. Look who's here

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

**The Days After The Night Before**

Chapter 5: **_Look who's here..._**

"Uh, Jesse," Rosco started as he came over. "How's… how's he doing?" He looked down at Flash as he spoke.

"He's doing alright I suppose," Jesse nodded. "We want to file a report about it."

Rosco nodded. "I thought ya might, I thought I should come over here, an, uh, make sure that he was okay, and uh, see if ya wanted to file a report, and uh…" he swallowed and scratched Flash behind her ears.

It was odd to hear Rosco without his usual giggling, but there was no doubt about it that he was serious. It was almost the way Rosco had been before when he was still known as an honest lawman.

"He was sleeping but as soon as he wakes up we can see if he's up to telling ya about it," Jesse nodded. He hoped that Bo would have settled down as he woke up. He turned around and led the way back into the house. Rosco let Flash down on the floor and stood inside the kitchen door looking uneasily while he fidgeted slightly. Jesse looked into the living room, smiling as he saw that Bo was still deep asleep. Cooter sent a suspicious look Rosco's way, but settled down as soon as he realized that Rosco wasn't going to arrest anyone for something that they hadn't done.

"Why don't ya sit down fer a moment." Jesse offered as he took down two mugs and filled them up with coffee.

Rosco nodded. "Ye know Jesse, I think that I will, see, I didn't know, Jesse. I just thought that, ya know." He broke off since not even he himself knew what he was trying to say.

Jesse nodded once more as he sipped at his own mug.

Flash stood beneath Rosco's chair for a moment, waggling his tail, but then he made his way over to the living room instead where the boys were. Cooter smiled as the dog made his way over to the couch, whining silently as she put her paws on the couch and reached her nose up to sniff at them.

"Hey, hey, look who's here," Cooter grinned. "How ya doing Flash?"

"Ah, come here Flash, that's a good dog." Luke reached down his free hand and scooped the dog up. Flash took advantage of it to put her paws on his chest and reach over to lick Bo in the face.

"Hey, Flash, don't wake him." Luke hushed the dog as Bo twisted in his arms. Flash ducked under Luke's arm to lick Bo again. This time Bo opened his eyes.

Cooter reached over and took Flash from Luke, hoping that the blonde Duke boy would be able to go back to sleep.

Bo however blinked a few times and brought up a hand to rub at his eyes, and then feel his moist cheek. Frowning at Luke as if he thought it was him.

"I think Flash's really eager to see ya." Luke smiled at him. "How ya feeling cousin?"

"Better, I think," Bo said quietly as he looked between him, Cooter and Flash. "Not as cold, just chilly, an' it ain't hurting too bad."

"That's good." Luke smiled at him. "Rosco's here," he added quietly.

Bo nodded. "I figured he would, unless Flash has taken to borrowing the patrol car."

Luke could have laughed out loud as he heard him joke, instead he hugged him.

"Come here Flash." Bo gave a small smile as he sneaked out one arm from under the blanket. Cooter grinned and hoisted the dog over, with a small stop at Luke so he could hold them. Flash gave him another face-wash as Bo scratched him behind the ears.

Hearing that his youngest nephew was awake Jesse led Rosco in there. Bo looked up and gave him an uncertain look, you just never knew what was up when you were dealing with Rosco. It could take any turn at all.

Rosco sighed as he sat down. "Bo, can ya tell me what happened?" He asked as he got out a note pad and a pen. Bo tightened his grip on Flash and swallowed.

"I, I was with Kerry-Marie," he began fumblingly. "She had chores ta do, so I left really early, an' I was just heading home," He broke off an' swallowed. "I never even saw 'im coming. Hit me side on and sent me into the pond, an' I couldn't do nothing about it, he just kept on as if nothing had happened. But I didn't see anything more cause then I was in the water an' I didn't know what to do." He paused to draw in a quivering breath and Luke rubbed his back soothingly.

Rosco was writing it all down, asking questions, and urging Bo on gently. All he could tell him was that it was a pale blue sedan, that was all he had seen of the car.

Roscoe listened patiently, Luke was actually rather impressed. He had never thought that the giggling Sheriff could be so sensitive. He pretended not to see when Bo turned his eyes down to Flash as he spoke. He was hugging the dog and was murmuring with his face almost buried in the soft fur. Yet Rosco kept his eyes on his notepad and pretended not to see anything at all.

Bo swallowed again, leaning into Luke as he finished it. He hoped it was finished. He didn't want to have to go back to the beginning again.

Jesse could tell by the look on his face that he needed to focus away from it. Since Rosco came the soup was still on the stove, so now he filled up a bowl of it, bringing it out to the boy.

"Here Bo, about time ya got to eat this," he smiled as he handed the bowl to Luke for him to hold. With Rosco there, Bo wasn't about to let himself be spoon fed no matter what. His hand shook slightly, and he did spill some. Still, it was hot and filling, and as good as his uncle's soup ever was.

"There's plenty of that there on the stove out there," Jesse nodded as he motioned towards the kitchen. "An ya need a lot of it."

Luke nodded. Bo appeared to be worn out. He looked exhausted and he was still pale. Luke guessed it wasn't much to hope for that he wouldn't catch sick at all. Bo was a strong and healthy young man, and he hated to think of it but he would most likely take sick from it.

Rosco stood up and cleared his throat. "I'll see what I can do. Tell Enos to keep an eye out for the car, he ain't gonna, that is, we'll try an' apprehend him, ya, ya take care now Bo," Rosco broke off looking around for Flash. "Come here now Flash, Daddy has work to do." Scooping the dog up in his arms he hurried for the door.

Luke watched him go shaking his head. "Ya know, I don't think I've ever seen him like that before."

"I'm pretty sure I ain't never seen him like that before," Cooter nodded as he took the empty bowl from Luke and put it on the coffee table.

"Ya want anymore?" Luke asked, but Bo shook his head. He couldn't eat anymore at just that time. He needed to let it settle a bit first.

"Tired," Bo murmured as he pulled his arms in beneath the blankets again.

Luke nodded slowly. "Want me to help ya into the bedroom?" he asked.

Once more Bo shook his head. "Nah, it's starting to get nice and warm here, I wanna stay here." He snuggled down a bit further, pulling the blanket tight over his shoulders.

"Ya are starting to thaw up a bit," Luke smiled as he sneaked in a hand beneath the blanket as he touched the back of his hand to Bo's chest. He wasn't anywhere near as cold as he had been: just a little chilly and that he could accept.

Cooter grinned as Bo snuggled down a slight bit further and leaned his head against Luke's chest. He hadn't really expected to think of his friends as 'cute,' but that just was. It was the way all he could see was a mop of tussled blonde hair that Luke cradled to his chest. It was cute because he had seen Bo and Luke grow up and all the times when Bo came like that. He had never been a very shy kid, but there was a few times when he would hide with his face in the folds of his aunt's dress or his uncle's trousers rather than face someone.

It was interesting that the boy who chatted happily with a revenuer, never mind him being raised by a moon shiner, would shut up tighter than a clam when some other people came over to chat. The boy could come running at full speed and throw himself around Cooter's neck, and you never even saw him coming. Sometimes you couldn't even tell whether he was trying to wrestle you down or was simply hugging you. With that kid it had sometimes been hard to tell the difference.

All the old wives had always called him cute, and all the mothers thought it was sweet how the eight year old boy would call their daughters pretty and bring them flowers. They even called it sweet when he was nine and was seen kissing a girl from his class in school behind the church. Claiming him to be just a boy and having no idea of what it meant. It was funny how they changed their mind about it later when he was older. They certainly didn't think it was sweet anymore when their daughters didn't always get back home before midnight.

Cooter grinned thinking that since Bo seemed to be coming around fine he'd be chasing them again in no time.

He was not so sure when Bo woke up with a cry and tried to break away from Luke.

"Hey Bo, easy now buddy," he mumbled.

"It's okay Bo, It's okay, ya safe now," Luke tried to sooth him. Bo still tried to break away and Luke let him, moving away from him so that there would be nothing restraining him anymore. Once he had kicked off the blankets and gotten away from Luke Bo started settling down a slight bit again. Still now he was shivering since he didn't have the warmth of the blankets anymore.

"Have ya settled down now?" Luke asked softly. "It was just a dream"

Bo nodded slowly. He was starting to feel really cold again and started to try and sort out the blankets to pull them back on.

Luke leaned over and helped him. At least there was still some warmth in them.

"Wanna go back to sleep?" Luke asked, he had a strong feeling that Bo wasn't quite ready for it. His guess was confirmed when Bo shook his head.

"Okay," he smiled at them. "Cooter, why don't ya grab that checker board over there an' we can have ourselves a game?"

Bo nodded and pushed himself up so that he could sneak out a hand to move the pieces. Cooter moved the small coffee table over and set up the board while Luke went and got Bo another refill of the tea. He played nice, not wanting to take advantage of the fact that Bo was too distracted to win. It just wouldn't be nice. He wanted to take Bo's mind off the things that had happened, not gloat over him.

Bo had been slower to learn because he was too impatient for the game in his youth. Jesse had still taught them both though, and they were both really good players. It also worked very well as a distraction. Cooter was content to sit and watched. He leant backwards in the chair and relaxed, but soon was found getting up to get Bo another refill of the tea. It was a good thing that Jesse had put a large pot to boil. It seemed it was really helping Bo. He added a generous amount of sugar before he brought it back to Bo. Not only because Bo liked it sweet, but also because he had heard that sugar helped you to deal with shock. He had no idea if it was true or not, but it certainly couldn't hurt any.

Bo tried to arrange the blankets to be covered as much as possible while still holding the mug and having an arm free for the board.

Then Luke reached over and took the half full mug away from him as he started to drift off to sleep again. Smiling softly he took Bo's arm and put them in under the blanket. Cooter grinned once more as he saw it, though he was wondering a bit about what the two of them could do while Bo was asleep.

At the sound of the first soft snore Luke got up from his chair and headed out into the kitchen. Cooter followed and grinned as Luke put the cookie jar on the table and filled two glasses with milk. They could talk a bit easier with out disturbing Bo, but if he had another nightmare, they would know about it instantly.

The two Duke boys tended to get that cookie jar out when something was bothering them and they wanted to think about it. Luke sat dipping the cookie in his milk thoughtfully as he looked across the table at Cooter.

"I just don't like it Cooter," he said softly. "For once I think Rosco's actually gonna be doing his job, but I just don't like it."

"I don't like thinking that there is anyone around these here parts that could run a poor kid of the road, and then leave him in a pond," Cooter stated as he reached for a second cookie. "Now, I know a couple of people here that would run y'all of the road if they could, and all of them fathers to them girls y'all have been chasing. But not a single one of them would leave him there and not make sure he was okay."

"I'm not even sure they would do that," Luke looked up at him. "Now, I've been chased of a farm or two for bringing them home too late, an' both Bo and me have been sent on our way with a round of buckshot a few times as well. But to hit the General head on?"

Cooter nodded, "Just don't sound like anyone we know."

"How bad of is the General?" Luke asked looking out the window.

"Pretty bad," Cooter shrugged. "Ain't gotten a good look at him yet, but, I can tell already that he's pretty bad. Nothing I can't fix though."

"Good, having him wrecked ain't gonna make Bo feel any better." Luke glanced out the window again. "I reckon that the sooner we get him fixed up, the sooner Bo'll start feeling better."

"I reckon you're right." Cooter nodded. "I'll take him with me when I go, an' I'll get working on him right away then."

"Thanks Cooter." Luke gave him a warm smile.

At that time they both looked out when Bo started muttering in his sleep. Once more the confinement of the blankets was starting to make him distressed. He was pushing at them and twisting as he came more and more awake.

**"I have ta admit it, I'm getting kinda worried here about that boy. Shouldn't he be doing better than this by now? An' we still don't know who it was went an' did that ta him…."**


	6. Sounding Like George Jones

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

**The Days After The Night Before**

Chapter 6: **_Sounding Like George Jones_**

Luke immediately headed over to help him with them and came in time to hear him mutter about how the lawn needed a moving; but that he didn't care, as well as how it had been a good year for the roses. It was the second time they had heard him mumble a George Jones song lyric, and it was really making Luke wondering what was going on there. He didn't doubt that Bo could sing most of those songs, but he had never heard him just blurt out the lyrics before.

As he knelt and pushed the blanket slowly to the side Bo seemed to come fully awake, blinking a few times as he looked at Luke. He could have asked if it had been a bad dream, but he already knew that it was, he could see it in Bo's eyes. Not to mention the way he shuddered and wrapped his arms around his chest. Not the way he would if he was cold though, he had a worried look on his face.

"Ready for some more of that soup?" Luke asked softly and smiled as Bo nodded.

"I'll get it." Cooter got up and refilled the bowl at the stove. This time once Luke had helped him to sit up a bit Bo took the bowl himself to eat. He was starting to feel better like Jesse had said he would. In fact, he didn't feel like he needed all the blankets anymore, but he didn't want to go back to sleep again. Every time he did that he found himself back in the General stuck in the water. It always seemed to take a moment or two before he knew that everything was okay.

He finished it and passed the bowl back to Cooter with a grateful smile. Then he tried to sort out the blankets.

"Starting to get warmer?" Luke asked.

Bo smiled at him, Luke always was the perceptive one. He always knew what was going on, he nodded slowly. "Yeah, I don't think I need that many anymore."

"Okay." Luke smiled back at his cousin and removed all but two blankets. Folding the others neatly and putting them close at hand.

"Can we finish the game now?" Bo asked nodding towards the checker board.

"Sure." Luke brought it closer again while Cooter went to the kitchen to get his and Luke's unfinished milk glasses, and of course the cookies as well.

Bo grinned as he saw Cooter with two half filled milk glasses, a cookie jar and a guilty grin. The cookies looked really nice though, if he could get a refill of his tea, because when he touched the mug it was ice cold. "Would ya mind?" He asked Cooter.

"Since I ain't playing, might as well be the errand boy." Cooter grinned happily as he went the second round to the kitchen.

"Thanks Cooter." Bo shifted so he could reach the board more easily as he drank the tea. Cooter handed him one of the cookies since they were mostly out of his reach. It was one time when Bo actually was quite satisfied with one. He was able to focus more on the game now though, and he was quite content at the moment.

If it wasn't for the fact that he was still feeling quite chilly, and the odd feeling in his leg that was something between numbness and a dull ache he'd just feel slightly tiered and not know anything bad had happened. Thinking about it however made him shudder.

Luke gave him a worried look as his body trembled and he hunched down slightly, but he allowed it to pass without really saying anything about it. Instead he looked up as Jesse came in through the door.

"Well, I got the animals all taken cared of." He said as he entered the livening room. He noticed that there was less blankets covering the boy and hoped it was because he was doing better. "How are ya feeling Bo?"

"I'm okay, getting better." Bo looked up at him with a small smile.

"Ya starting to look a might bit better at that." Jesse smiled as he walked over and touched the back of his hand to his forehead. "Ya's a bit hot there, but I don't reckon it's to bad." He looked at the board. "Who's winning," he asked mostly to keep him focused on the more merrier things. One look on the board and on Luke's slightly ruefully expression told him who was winning.

"Luke is." Bo looked up at him and at least his eyes were clear and so did his head seem to be.

"Well, ya just wait now, that boy there is gonna get cocky, an then ya can whoop his tail." Jesse grinned at him, winking at Luke. Knowing that he wanted to let Bo win this one if he could.

"It don' matter Uncle Jesse, I don't mind losing today, an' I don' want Luke ta throw the game." Bo gave him a thoughtful look, as if he was pretty sure that was what Jesse was suggesting.

"Now, I never said anything about him throwing the game, did I." Jesse replied not even missing a beat as he smoothed down his hair away from his forehead.

Bo nodded slowly. "When's Daisy coming back?" He asked, it was going to be hard to explain everything to her.

"Ya want me ta call the Boars Nest and see if maybe she can get off early?" Jesse asked, thinking that maybe he wanted to have her close for comfort as well.

Bo shook his head slowly. "No, s'just gonna be hard ta explain."

"Don't worry about that, we'll explain ta her." Luke smiled softly. "She'll understand."

"She's gonna be upset." Bo stated quietly. It was more wearying than he would have thought to talk.

"She'll understand." Jesse suddenly had a feeling that he wanted to catch Daisy before she entered the house and explain things to her. Bo was right, she was going to be mighty upset, and if she reacted strongly he didn't want her to start making Bo distressed or agitated. Well, he would hear Dixie and he could easily step outside and explain it to her. She wouldn't know that Bo hadn't gotten back home in the night, neither of them had. He never bothered to stay up and wait for the boys when they were out on a date. It would be like telling them he didn't trust them.

If they failed to keep a proper conduct about it he would let them know. If Bo got home so late he was to tiered to wok Jesse wouldn't let him get away with it, they both knew that. Daisy was allowed to sleep in when she worked the nightshifts, the boys were when they had been working late.

So the fact that Bo wasn't home when he went to bed hadn't been any cause of concern. Daisy should be home any minute now thought he was thinking as he glanced at the clock.

Bo was making a new draw, not the best one he could have made, he was just trying to match Luke at the time but he looked up as he heard the engine. Jesse smiled at him as he went out through the kitchen door.

"He's gonna tell her?" He asked Luke, sipping on another refill of his tea. He had been drinking a lot of tea, but it was warming and if felt quite good.

"I reckon he's gonna explain." Luke nodded, he had been thinking the same thing and Cooter nodded in agreement.

It wasn't many minutes before Daisy was running inside, as soon as Jesse had told her that Bo had gotten hurt she was running inside. He had hoped to tell her how outside so Bo wouldn't be forced to listen to a retell of it. It seemed to him that was likely to upset him and he didn't want that.

"I'm okay." Bo said braving a smile as he happily accepted a hug from her.

"What happened Sugar." Daisy asked, perching on the edge of the sofa and brushing back his hair tenderly.

"Some guy ran me off the road and into the pond." Bo mumbled.

"Who?" Daisy frowned. "Who'd do such a thing."

"I dunno, I never saw." He shook his head, not wanting to talk about it again and drained his cup. "Could I have some more tea?" He asked to distract her, hopefully.

"I'll get it for ya buddyro." Cooter grinned as he stood and took his mug. Bo had been hoping Daisy would go for it.

"You didn't see?" Daisy frowned.

"I don't really wanna talk about it." Bo mumbled slowly.

"But when did it happen? Why didn't ya call us on the CB?" She smoothed his hair back again.

"CB got wet an' didn't work, Daisy please, I really don't wanna talk about it anymore." Bo gave Luke a pleading look.

Luke gave him a small nod to show that he understood. "Daisy, that can wait, its better for him ta rest now. Rosco came by to write a report, and I don't think he needs to be thinking about it right now."

Daisy nodded as she had to admit that what Luke was saying made sense. "Okay sugar, you just rest now. I can cook ya up something really nice for supper."

"I'm not really very hungry." He said giving him an apologetic look, however there was something else and he started pushing at the blankets again. Trying to get them off his legs and noting how Cooter frowned at him where he came back with a steaming mug. He had been drinking a lot of tea, and he was starting to realize that.

Luke gave him a small smile and helped him to the bathroom. He was feeling a bit to unsteady on his feet for crutches right now, and Luke was a far better help. He trusted Luke not to let him fall, and he was pretty sure that if he used the crutches he would be falling on his face.

Even if he was starting to realize that it had just been a distraction Cooter put the mug down on the coffee table. Just in case Bo actually did want it. He gave them a concerned look as they came back, Bo shivering slightly again as Luke helped him to lie down again and covered him up with the blankets. Getting one of the ones he had folded up earlier to cover him up with temporarily since he was slightly chilled now.

"Well, I'll just make you something nice, and then you can eat what you want." Daisy smiled at him. Deciding that it would be a good idea to get more information from their uncle. She could understand that Bo wasn't in the mood to talk about it, but she also wanted to know exactly what had happened. Especially since the two boys usually took any crash in strides. They would be coming back with Cooter, or a few times walking, and it never seemed to bother them the slightest. She'd even been on her way from work a few times, only to see the General upside down at the side of the road.

Out in the kitchen Jesse explained to her in hushed terms exactly what had happened and how Bo had come to be trapped. Hearing that Daisy had to restrain herself not to run into the other room and throw herself around his neck. She wanted so badly too, but she reckoned it wouldn't be a too good idea as she glanced into the family room.

Once more he had sneaked out an arm to reach the board, but this time he was playing against Cooter. Luke had traded place with him after he won, thinking that Bo would do better against the mechanic. Bo knew what they were thinking, he wasn't that confused, but he didn't mind too much. In fact, playing with Cooter served as a better distraction, because Cooter knew how to work as a distraction. Trying to make Bo look away from the board so he could change the position of the markers. It wasn't to actively cheat, it was to make the game more interesting. To Cooter it was a joke. Seeing if he could get away with it.

Bo shook his head as one distraction failed. "Cooter, ain't no way I'm gonna believe ya saw a pink elephant in the kitchen.

"Well, maybe after a few glasses of Uncle Jesse's finest." Luke admitted. "But never while sober, seriously Cooter, how would it fit through the door?"

"I dunno." Cooter shrugged. "I just thought it might be odd enough to make y'all look."

"No Cooter, not quite." Luke shook his head while Bo shrugged. Cooter was amusing at the very least.

"What would make y'all look away then?" Cooter asked thoughtfully.

"Maybe that goat there trying to get in through the kitchen door." Luke frowned as he looked.

"What?" Cooter turned around to look while Bo quickly changed the position of two markers. It was all he was able to do at the moment before Cooter turned back and gave Luke a thoughtful look.

"I didn't see nothing." He sated as he looked at Luke.

"Uncle Jesse must've shooed 'im away." Luke shrugged winking at Bo.

Bo nodded slowly. "He keeps saying he don't want them in the house."

"Why do I get a feeling the two of ya were trying something?" Cooter frowned as he looked at the board.

"Now Cooter, would we do that?" Luke asked draping an arm around his shoulders and once more winking at Bo.

"Yeah," Cooter nodded. "You would, and not think twice about it either."

"Neither would you." Bo pointed out, shifting a little and hoping that no one noticed the twinge that ran up his leg.

"You have a point there buddyro." Cooter admitted as he studied the board, trying to figure out his next move.

**"While I am sure that ya might see pink elephants in the kitchen after a little too much of Uncle Jesse's finest, and equally sure he'd shoe the goat right back out, I'm also dang sure I'd rather see those dudes get caught…"**


	7. Amanda Light of my life

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

**The Days After The Night Before**

Chapter 7: **_Amanda. Light of my life_**

Some time after everyone eating a meal together in the family room, something Jesse had insisted on to spare Bo having to move, Cooter left and headed back home hooking up the General to the tow truck again so that he could take him to the garage. He also promised that he would return early the next morning, give them a hand with the chores before he opened the garage.

Jesse would normally insist that they didn't need any help, and he did mean that, but he also knew that Cooter wanted to drop by to check on Bo. So instead he told him he had better be bright and early, and Jesse would have breakfast ready for him when he came by.

Luke smiled softly as he looked at the couch, Bo was half asleep again, not really asleep but he for sure wasn't awake either. Jesse came to stand beside him and gave Luke a one armed hug, one that Luke returned in full. Daisy sneaked up on Jesse's other side.

"He's really tuckered out." She smiled softly, chuckling slightly as Bo made an effort to open his eyes fully and look at her.

"Come on, lets get ya ta bed." Luke smiled as he headed over to his cousin. Bo sat up and pushed off the blankets even as he tried to cover a huge yawn with the back of his hand. Luke helped him to get to his feet and steadied him as they headed to the bedroom. Luke pulled back the covers of Bo's bed so he could get in easier. Then he gave Daisy a grateful look as she came with their pillows back from the couch.

"Ya okay there?" Luke asked as he spread a blanket on top of the cover. "Or do ya want another blanket?"

"Mm, fine." Bo mumbled sleepily.

"Well, ya just let me know if ya want anything, okay?" Luke smoothed down his hair, nothing that he was still a bit hot, hoping it wouldn't get too much worse.

"Kay. Night Luke." It was one last effort to open his eyes as he said it, after that he fell right asleep.

"I'm gonna keep an eye on him." Luke promised Daisy in a soft voice.

"He's liable ta have nightmares tonight." Jesse said softly as he entered the room to press a kiss to Bo's forehead. "If ya want some help ta deal with it ya just wake me up, okay?"

"I will," Luke promised as he hugged him good night. He knew that Bo was likely to dream. He smiled at Jesse and Daisy as his uncle turned out the light but left the door slightly ajar, something that Luke knew he did with the intent that he would hear if Bo had a nightmare.

He turned to his side so that he was facing Bo. At the moment he was the image of perfect peace, but Luke knew as well as Jesse he wasn't likely to stay that way. He kept looking at him as he slowly fell asleep.

When Luke had just gotten back from the Marines he had been able to make himself wake up at the slightest sound if he wanted to. He had used that training when Bo got sick before he had even really settled back in, to make sure that if Bo needed something he would not miss it. He had woken up for nightmares that haunted a slightly insecure seventeen year old. He had woken up to fetch him something cold to drink, to get him an extra blanket, had woken up several times to note that all Bo had really done was turn around or sigh in his sleep.

He wasn't as good at it anymore, but he could still do it.

The way Bo muttered while tossing back and forth distressed was enough to let Luke know it was time to try and wake him.

"Bo, come on Bo, ya having a nightmare. Wake up Bo," he said even as he threw back his cover and padded over to his bed. "Come on cousin, its okay, just a bad dream, wake up now." He sat down on the edge of the mattress, one hand on his injured leg to keep his tossing from hurting him, and one on his shoulder to wake him. "Come on Bo, wake up now."

Bo gave a small cry as he came awake and bolted upright. Then he latched on to Luke, clinging to him.

"It's okay Bo, I got ya now, it's okay." He rubbed his back soothingly. Bo dug his face into his shoulder, needing the comfort, needing the closeness to Luke. Then as he was slowly able to calm down with Luke's hand on his back as he eased him down again. "You okay now?" he asked smoothing away his hair, he was a tad hotter unless Luke was mistaken.

Bo nodded slowly, grabbing the cover and pulling it to his chin with one hand. He closed his eyes and Luke rose to get back to his own bed, squeezing his shoulder as he did so.

"_Well, a measure of people don't understand, the pleasures of life in a hillbilly band.  
I got my first guitar when I was fourteen, now I'm crowding thirty and still wearing jeans." _

Luke stopped between the beds and frowned as he heard Bo mumbling. He could just barely make out the quiet words, but that was a Don Williams song, and he just knew it. Frowning he turned around and crossed back over to Bo's bed, sitting down on the edge again.

"Bo what was that?" he asked softly.

"_Amanda. Llight of my life_." Bo mumbled half asleep.

"I know the song Bo. What I wanna know is why ya were trying to recite it. Bo, ya been reciting a whole lot of them now. What is it about?"

Bo opened his eyes and looked up at him, coming awake by the concern in Luke's voice. "I, uh, I was doing it when I was in the General, ya always told me never ta panic, an' I tried not to, so I was trying to think of the words to them, an' I panicked a few times, but it helped ta keep calm. An' it helped ta forget how cold it was an' all."

Luke swallowed, "Ya were doing that the whole night. Trying to remember the words to some songs?"

Bo nodded, "But I didn't know enough, so I tried and remember the chords as well, but I still didn't know enough, and it was really hard to remember all the words to the songs I didn't ever hear but ya said never ta panic so I tried."

Luke blinked, trying to remember the words to songs he had never heard, that was typical of Bo. It amazed him to hear it. Bo had really tried his best to be in control of the situation… a situation that he had no control over. He smoothed down his hair once more.

"You did great Bo, you did great. But it's over now, ya don't have to anymore, I'm here now. I'm here and I'm gonna take care of you."

"I tried not to panic Luke." Bo mumbled, sleep beginning to overtake him again.

"You did great, I'm really proud of ya Bo, I'm really proud of ya." Luke smiled at him, he was just as proud as he said he were. Bo had done great to think of that, and he still thought it was a typical Bo thing to try and remember the words to a song he had never heard… only he would be trying to do that.

When he was sure Bo was asleep again he went back to his bed. Once more making sure he would wake up at any sound his cousin made. It repeated two more times when he had to wake him up from the nightmares, but the other two were still better. Bo didn't seem as confused when he woke up. He was scared, but he knew where he was and what had happened.

Luke took what little sleep he could get, and when he woke up in the morning he dressed quietly, hoping that he would be able to sleep some more.

"How's he doing?" Jesse asked the first thing when Luke came out into the kitchen.

"He seemed okay," Luke nodded as he took the egg basket to gather the eggs. "Woke up three times with nightmares, but after the last one he just went back to sleep. It didn't seem to be too much of a problem then. I didn't want to wake him now, but I left the door open so we could hear if he gets another one.

"Good, good." Jesse nodded. "Ya go an' git those eggs now, or I ain't gonna be able ta cook them." He was planning a sturdy breakfast for his youngest knowing that even if he needed the sleep, he was getting to a point where he would need some food more.

Luke headed out the kitchen door with a grin and Jesse continued on the breakfast. When it was just about ready Jesse sent Daisy to get Bo up. She entered the boy's bedroom and smiled as she saw him. On his back with one arm curled back behind his head under the pillow and one half out of the bed, his face turned towards Luke's bed. No doubt to draw comfort from him.

"Hey Sugar, breakfast's ready." She smiled softly as she sank down on the edge of the bed. "How are ya doing today honey?" She chuckled slightly as he murmured something and turned his face the other way.

At the best of times it could sometimes be a challenge to make him wake up, and back before he joined the Marines, Luke had been no better.

"Uncle Jesse's got breakfast ready." She stated and watched how he cracked his eyes open a fraction. "How's that sound?" She touched his forehead and frowned at the heat she felt. He was sick, the fever burning hot. "Ya feeling up to it?"

A small nod as he was coming more awake and Daisy hugged him letting him do it in his own time as he pushed the cover and the blankets down to his waist and sat up. She put a hand to his shoulder as he sat there blinking, battling with the sleep and the fever to stay awake. Then he started to look around for a way to get out into the kitchen while he separated out one blanket.

"Do ya want Luke to help ya?" she asked, knowing that Luke would be far better at it then she could hope to.

He gave a small nod and mumbled affirmative as he looked up from the blanket.

"I'll go fetch him." She smiled at him and kissed his cheek as she headed out into the kitchen. When Luke returned to the bedroom Bo was still trying to get fully awake. Luke helped him up and out to the kitchen, taking the blanket in his other hand as he could figure out why he wanted it. Bo looked to be still half asleep, and he didn't really seem talkative at all. He didn't greet his uncle with words as much as he did with a hug.

"Ya try an' eat some now, an' ya can git back to bed later." Jesse smiled at him even as he still had him in the hug.

"M' kay" Bo mumbled as he released him.

Jesse helped him to sit down and Luke spread the blanket around him, grinning as he heard someone honk a horn outside. "Looks like we have Cooter here." Luke grinned, "I bet he can smell ya cooking a mile away Uncle Jesse."

"Hey y'all." Before Jesse could reply Cooter came in through the kitchen door. "How ya doing buddyro?" He asked as he stepped up to Bo and put a hand on his shoulder.

"M' fine." Bo gave him a small grin and stifled a yawn.

"Look better than yesterday, that's for sure." Cooter grinned, a grin that widened when he saw Jesse load up an extra plate. "That sure smells good Uncle Jesse."

"First off Cooter, I ain't ya uncle Jesse." Jesse gave him a small glare as he put the last plate on the table. He watched as Cooter sat down and all three lads folded their hands as he said grace.

Luke and Cooter joked cheerfully while Bo smiled at their antics and Jesse regarded them all. Three of them, and at times it felt as if he had raised Cooter as well. That boy had been hanging around the farm as a playmate to first Luke and then Bo as well. It was hard to play with Luke and not play with Bo, and Luke never seemed to mind it too much. He was a good boy, patient most of the time. Thought there was a few times Jesse had taken him to the woodshed after he lost his temper. Everyone thought Bo was the one with the hot temper, but Luke had been good at that as well. You'd never believe it now, but how many times had he punched Bo over some insignificant quarrel?

It had been hectic and loud a few times, especially since Cooter and Bo both acted first and gave a thought to it later.

You'd think that they could figure out some things in advance, like the fact that if you dumped a bucket full of water at someone they would get mad, and if you did that to a teacher, you would get detention. Yet those two seemed to be able to be surprised by it.

Only his kids, only his kids.

"How's the General looking?" Bo rubbed at his eyes as he asked the question.

"Well, I ain't had much time to look at him, but it don't seem too bad at that." Cooter grinned.

Luke frowned. He was pretty sure that Cooter had looked at it a bit. He looked as if he had stayed up working most of the night, and he most likely had. He tended to do that at times, and if there was one thing that would make him do that, it was the Duke boys and the General Lee.

"Cooter, I'll be with ya later and help ya fix him up." He smiled at him, not wanting to have Cooter overworking himself on their account. Yet the look Cooter gave him told him to be quiet about it in front of Bo who for once actually was unaware about it. He was carefully selecting bits of scrambled eggs before he ate them. Jesse knew it was a way to stall the eating when he wasn't really hungry, but he did eat the eggs and the bacon and that was all that mattered to him. He pulled the blanket closer with one hand as he took the milk glass with the other one sipping it slowly.

Once he put it down it was pretty clear he was quite satisfied though as he leaned back and gathered the blanket closer around his shoulders.

"Wanna get back to bed?" Luke asked quietly.

Bo shook his head slowly. "That's so boring, can't I just take the couch?" He gave them a hopeful look knowing that if Jesse told him to go to bed he would be forced to do so, both he and Luke had more sense than to go against their uncle…. at least most of the time.

"Sounds good enough to me." Jesse nodded slowly. "Long as ya take it easy." He didn't mind the fact that if the boy stayed on the couch he would be able to keep an eye on him.

"I will," Bo looked up at him with a smile. "I'm about tired enough to fall right asleep."

"Yeah, well, ya had better take it easy until that fever of ya's gone." Jesse told him softly. "So you go ahead and sleep."

Bo nodded and gratefully accepted Luke's help in getting there, though Luke knew that once the fever was gone he would be chafing at any offer to help that he got. Now though Cooter darted into the boy's bedroom and grabbed the two pillows off the bed once more giving them to Luke who arranged them so Bo could lean against them. Oh, he could already see a glint of annoyance in his eyes. Bo didn't like to be fussed over, even when he didn't really have any choice. He allowed it and he leaned back into them, his eyes already drifting half closed.

"What do y'all want us ta start with Uncle Jesse?" Cooter asked with a grin towards Bo who looked pretty much asleep already to him.

"Ya can start by not calling me Uncle Jesse," came the gruff reply, one that caused the corner of his youngest mouth to pull upwards slightly. Jesse knew both boys more than well enough to know that he was yet a few seconds from asleep. "I would've said that ya could all chop up some wood, but then ya'd just go an wake that lad there up, so since ya's here anyway, why don't ya try and do something with the tractor Cooter, and Luke can take care of Maudine."

"Sure thing Unc,.. umm Jesse." Cooter caught himself with a grin while Luke chuckled and Bo gave a small sigh.

There wasn't much work to be done indoors, but Jesse found himself unwilling to leave the house just yet. Daisy gave both boys a hug before they went outside, and then she too busied herself around the house, first clearing off the table and dealing with the dishes trying not to make any loud noises that would wake her cousin up while Jesse sat down to sort out some of the bills that always seemed to be stacking up.

Once the dishes were taken care of, Daisy moved into the living room. She sat down with the basket of clothes in need of mending. There were always clothes that needed it in this household. The boys especially had ripped shirts and jeans. There were socks that needed darning, Luke's jeans had a tear in them from catching on something while trying to squeeze in between the old tractor and the wall. Bo's had a matching tear from barbed wire, the girl might have been happy over the late night visit, but her father hadn't been.

She shook her head, those two boys… there was no telling what they were up to most of the time. Now she needed to mend Bo's other jeans as well, though she was grateful the staff at the hospital had cut them open at the seam, if not it would have been even harder to mend them. She had been worried at first that the sound of the sewing machine would wake him up, but the steady whining of it seemed to send him into an even deeper sleep instead and Jesse chuckled from where he sat.

**"Well, if you asked me I'd be right down comforted ta have Daisy there like that. An' in spite of all the rest, I have ta wonder if Bo there got ta meet the girl afore he was run off…?" **


	8. Starting To Mend,

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

* * *

**The Days After The Night Before**

_**Chapter 8: Starting To Mend, Could You Hand Me The Wrench Please?**_

"How's the General looking?" Luke asked as he joined the Cooter by the tractor. He had taken care of both his own and Bo's chores and now he wanted to talk some with Cooter.

"He's gonna take a whole lot of work." Cooter stated thoughtfully. "No mistakin' about it, a whole lot of work, but, I'll be able to patch him up again."

"I don' want Bo ta see him again until he's fixed." Luke said thoughtfully. "He was having nightmares about it, and it don't surprise me none. I don't want him to see how bad he's messed up and start thinking even more about it."

"I can understand that." Cooter grunted as he wrestled with a stubborn bolt. "Ya know, I was having a talk with my cousin when I got back last night. He said he knew of an old wreck we could have an' strip. Won't take care of all of it there, but it would be a start. Need some more than that, but I thought that if we went and picked it up, I could have most of it done within a week."

Luke beamed a grin at him. "That would be great Cooter, but I figure it would be more like one and a half weeks."

"Huh?" Cooter looked up at him with a frown.

"Ya can't go one week and never sleep Cooter. Ya might have pulled it off today, but believe me, Uncle Jesse will know and he ain't gonna like it. Especially not since you, me and he all knows ya's gonna be running over here every other day."

"Yeah, I reckon I am at that." Cooter gave him a grin that could rival the one Bo had, the one that made him look like he had been caught in the cookie jar, though Cooter's version had a bit of confusion to it, as if he wasn't sure what he was doing in the cookie jar in the first place. With Bo it couldn't be simpler. He was there because the cookies were there as well, and that was all the reason he needed. "One and a half weeks then," he grinned.

"And I'll be helping ya." Luke added, thinking that with Cooter it might be best to be sure that he had understood.

Now he looked at Luke with an expression of utter confusion that Luke wasn't sure even Bo could match, and he could pull of most of those expressions. "Uh Luke, then we'd sorta be back ta one week, wouldn't we?" he asked, sounding about as confused as he looked.

Luke shook his head. "Not really, We got some other work to do as well remember."

"Oh yeah," Cooter nodded with a big grin of realization dawning as he started to work on the bolt again. Then he paused, his hand dropping and turning to Luke. "Um, mind telling me what?" he asked with dusk setting over the realization.

Luke nodded grimly. "Cooter, someone ran Bo off the road, and left him in the pond, now what does that tell ya?"

"We gonna go looking for 'im?" Cooter asked with a thoughtful frown.

"Yeah, I'd like to teach him one damn good lesson." Luke let the screwdriver drop and glanced towards the house. "He was telling me how he was trying not to panic Cooter, said he was sitting there jus' reciting song lyrics to keep himself from panicking, said he was trying to do all he knew, and then some." He gave a small chuckle, only Bo… "I wanna teach him a lesson Cooter, a damn good one."

"I know Luke." Cooter looked up at him, and Luke was almost getting used to seeing him look serious, something he normally didn't do. "Uncle Jesse taught us all to fight fair if'n we were gonna fight, but right now I don't really care none. I'd hit him with a crankshaft if it came to it."

Luke looked at him, and there was something new in Cooter, something that had made its way there when he saw his best friend trapped in car half submerged in water. "Uncle Jesse would tell us that we have to be better than them, that we're Dukes and that Dukes don't fall so low just because someone did us a bad turn. He'd say that Dukes take their revenge on property and not on people." He shook his head. "But right now I don't care Cooter."

"Me neither." Cooter bent over the engine again, hiding his sadness in grease and oil.

Inside the house Daisy looked up every time that Bo shifted and sighed in his sleep. When it was clear to her that he was having another nightmare she went over to shake his shoulder gently to wake him up again. Sitting down on the edge of the couch and trying to brave a smile as his eyes snapped open and she could see the fear in them.

"Are ya okay sugar?" she asked softly as she brushed a few locks of hair away from his forehead.

"Yeah." Bo shrugged, "just had a bad dream."

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked still petting his hair. He had such nice soft hair that she gladly took the opportunity when he wasn't really likely to object.

"Not really," he shook his head. "Daisy, it scared me."

She couldn't help but smile, he said that the second after he claimed he didn't wanna talk about it.

"Its okay to be scared Bo." She tried to reassure him knowing it would have worked so much better if it had been coming from either Luke or Jesse.

"Luke ain't scared" he mumbled looking up at her.

"Luke is scared at times." Daisy twirled a lock around her fingers. "Even Uncle Jesse is scared at times. It ain't anything that ya have to be ashamed of darlin'."

"I ain't ashamed." He tried to sound convincing, but she knew him to well for that. "Well, not like that anyway," he went on slowly. "I just don't like it is all."

Daisy nodded understandingly as Bo rubbed at his eyes and looked around.

"Do ya know where Luke put that new car magazine of his?" he asked thoughtfully.

"No sugar." She really didn't keep track of where the boys kept them. Generally they could be found all over the house depending on where they had been sitting while they were reading.

"I think it's by his bed, could ya check?" he asked hopefully, the fact that it was the latest one meant that he had not yet read it. Luke usually insisted on reading them first. Still, whenever he wasn't around and Bo was bored, he would look in them, and today he didn't think Luke would really mind. He wasn't impossible after all, and during the circumstances Bo was pretty sure he'd bend the rules.

"Sure." Daisy disappeared into the boy's bedroom and returned shortly with a car magazine. "I think that he's done with it anyway, it's closed."

"Thanks." Bo gave her a grateful smile. it was the last one he hadn't read however. So if he was gonna be stuck doing nothing for some time, then he would have to start digging out the older issues. He took it and started reading, it was great for taking his mind of the things he didn't want to think about. Unless he started thinking about how good it was for doing that. Because when he was thinking about what he didn't want to think about he was thinking about it anyway, and it was thinking about it in any way that he didn't want to do. He shook his head and quickly buried his nose into the magazine.

**"If it makes that boy feel better, he can have my car magazine. Thought I wish someone would just hurry up and catch them bad dudeds. At least Luke and Cooter seems to be getting somewhere with the General."**


	9. No Leads Yet…

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

* * *

**The Days After The Night Before**

Chapter 9:

It surprised Jesse when Rosco came over shortly before lunch, even if was only to report that there was no new leads and ask how Bo was doing. Jesse peaked into the family room knowing that Bo had nodded off again, but now he got worried since he was much warmer than before. Clearly running more of a fever than he had done in the morning. He put his hand on the boy's brow and tried to determine exactly how much of a fever he had, and wondering if he should be worried about it yet.

"How's he doing there?" Rosco asked from the kitchen doorway, holding his hat in his hands and fiddling a bit with the brim.

"He's starting ta catch on sick." Jesse sighed. "But he should be alright I reckon. S' a strong lad."

Rosco nodded slowly. "Me an' Enos, we're still trying ta come up with sumpthing, but there ain't much ta go by. Was no witnesses so all we can really do is ask around an' hope we find something."

Jesse nodded slowly, the one time that Rosco was actually doing his job he wasn't going to complain about him not getting enough results. "I know Rosco, I want ya ta know that we appreciate it, all 'o us Dukes do."

Rosco left again, and the boys came in for lunch while Daisy left for work. She had taken the half finished car magazines from him and put it on the coffee table once he fell asleep. Luke went straight to the couch as soon as he was indoors.

"He's really burning up Uncle Jesse." He said worriedly as he touched his forehead.

"I know, he's been getting hotter and hotter." Jesse went over to stand beside him. "We all knew he was gonna catch sick from it Luke, there ain't no more to it than that. But I've been keeping my eye on him alright, and he ain't doing too bad right now. It ain't really bothering him none. He's just running a fever and sleeping."

"I gotta get back to the garage in a bit." Cooter stated thoughtfully, "want me ta give a holler to ol' Doc Appleby? Could ask him ta come on over here an' take a look at him. Make sure it ain't no worse than it looks."

Jesse shook his head and put a hand on his shoulder. "Nothing ta worry about just yet Cooter, if 'n he gets any worse 'n he is right now it'll be time to ask ol' Doc ta come on over here. But right now it ain't really nothing ta worry about, an' I'll tell ya what ya's gonna be doing. The two off ya has been working real hard, an' I know ya's gonna be doing the same this afternoon, so ya just sit down an' have ya lunch now an' I'll take care of him." He looked at both young boys. "Now git out in that there kitchen, ya here."

He shooed them out to the table to eat, getting a glass of cold water and returning to Bo again, speaking softly to him as he tried to make him drink.

"Come here now lad, ya's gonna be needing this if ya's gonna be as hot as ya are now." He smiled as Bo cracked his eyes open a little in response to the soft voice.

"Uncle Jesse, ah' ain't feeling good." Bo mumbled and Jesse smiled a little as he brushed his hair out of his eyes.

"I know lad, I know ya ain't, got some nice cold water here for ya, an' ya need ta drink, Bo, ya need ta drink a lot here. Ya's running a fever an' the last thing ya need right now is ta get ya self dehydrated."

Bo nodded and drank greedily as his uncle helped him, draining the glass of everything but the last sip.

"M' throat hurts." He mumbled as he pulled away from the glass.

"Want something hot instead, some tea?" Jesse asked softly, giving him a worried look as Bo shook his head. "Don't really want nothing."

Jesse nodded even if he had wished he would have drinking some more. "Ya rest some more now then, an' ya tell me if ya want some more later." He'd fill up a pitcher with ice water and leave on the table. Maybe it would be easier to make him drink a little at a time and more often, than it was for him to drink a whole glass.

He headed out into the kitchen and the two young faces with the worried expressions that sat there. Telling them to stop fretting for a few minutes and make sure they ate some. Filling up the pitcher and brining it back out into the family room.

Even though he didn't want to leave the Dukes, Cooter had to get back to the garage, thought once more he said something about returning in the morning and helping out with the chores. Jesse suspected that he would be using that excuse the whole time until Bo was better. He would have objected if he hadn't known how it was concern about Bo that made it. He had also been an uncle for too many years not to see other possibilities in it as well. Every day that Cooter dropped by in the morning and stayed to lunch, Jesse could make sure that there was two good sturdy meals he ate where he knew Cooter might not care for himself on his own.

Even when Bo was the most immediate object of his concern he was still worried about Luke, Daisy and Cooter. He couldn't imagine not worrying about them. By this time it was a way of life more than anything else.

Cooter left and Luke got a bowl with some cold water, sitting down on the edge of the couch and started trying to bring his fever down. Wiping his face and chest with a washcloth dipped in the cold water. It soothed him a little and Luke was able to make him take another half glass of the water. Though he complained about it being to cold.

It wasn't until late in the evening that he really woke up again. Focusing on Luke with fever clouded eyes.

"It hurts." He groaned.

"What hurts Bo?" Luke asked softly, worried that his leg would be bothering him even more now.

"Me." Bo mumbled sleepily and Luke smiled softly.

"Where do ya hurt Bo? If ya tell me maybe I can help ya with it."

"Dunno, s' just hurting." Bo looked at him again and grasped his hand. "S' nasty."

"I know Bo, I know." Luke took his other hand and pushed a few locks of hair away from his eyes. He had been blinking so clearly it was bothering him. "Ya know what I think Bo, I think we should get ya ta bed, how's that sounding?" He was quite surprised to see Bo shaking his head over it.

"Bo, ya'd be much better of in bed by now, come on."

"No." Bo gave him a stubborn look. "I dun wanna."

"Why."

"Cause I'd just dream lots 'a bad dreams, an' I dun wanna."

"Oh." It made sense, the nightmares had to be twice as bad for him now with the fever. "Bo, I know ya's been having nightmares, but ya still gotta sleep. Ya ain't gonna get no better if ya don't."

"Bad nightmares," Bo mumbled. "Really bad Luke."

"I understand kiddo, I really understand, but not sleeping ain't gonna make it any better at all." He ruffled his hair again. "Come on now, lets get ya to bed buddyro, I'll stay with ya until ya's asleep, how's that sounding?" He didn't really wait for objections, instead he just picked him up and carried him into the other room. Returning later for his pillow and for the water. Coxing him to drink another sip and continuing to sponge him off trying to cool him. At least he slept peacefully well into the night. Even when he woke up Luke could easily sooth him back to sleep again.

Nothing really changed the first week, Rosco didn't get a single lead, Cooter kept dropping by, and while Bo's fever never grew too bad it was persistent. Therefore they kept him in his bed instead of on the couch. Thought Luke moved him regularly to his own bed so that Daisy could change the sheets in Bo's bed to fresh ones. One moment he was shivering with cold, and the next sweating and trying to throw off the sheets. They had to check on him very often, because when he shifted from sweltering to shivering they had to cover him up with more blankets. When he went from too hot to too warm they had to try and cool him down.

Luke couldn't hide the fact that he was worried either, and with spending most of his time watching over Bo he didn't get to help Cooter as much as he had wanted either, which didn't really matter since Cooter spent most of any free time he had at the Duke farm. If it had gone on much longer, Jesse suspected he would have been forced to command them away to sleep for some time. He was mighty tempted to do it when he walked into the boy's bedroom and found Bo wide awake there. Looking tired and his hair was sweat matted, but his eyes were clear from the fever and his brow was no hotter than it should be.

"How are ya feeling?" He asked softly, it was mid afternoon, and he had been sleeping the whole day up until then.

"Lot better." Bo smiled at him and rubbed at his eyes a bit. "I wanna get up, I'm tiered of lying around here."

"Okay," Jesse nodded. "But ya had better take it easy today ya hear boy, cause ya ain't all that well yet."

"Kay." Bo nodded slowly as he sat up. "Where's my clothes?" He frowned. Normally they would have been on the floor next to his bed, but now there was nothing there.

"I'll git them." The jeans were in the living room where Daisy had temporarily modified them to easier fit over a cast. Then he got him a t-shirt and a shirt from the closet, separating one sock from a pair for him as well. Bo thanked him and started getting dressed. Slowly, a bit worn out, but he was most defiantly better, and getting the crutches he was fairly steady on his feet as he made his way out into the family room, looking around curiously.

"Where's everyone?" He asked as he couldn't spot either cousin.

"Well, Daisy just about took off for work, and Luke went with Cooter after lunch." Jesse explained to him.

"Oh," he couldn't say that he was disappointed, it wasn't fair to expect them to hang around to wait for him, but he would have wanted to talk with them. Even if he had been on the farm the whole time it felt as if he had been missing them, as if either them or he hand been away. Granted he and Luke generally started missing each other any time they were separated for more than a few hours since they were used to being together all the time. There were those who claimed that they had never seen one of them without the other.

Jesse smiled at him, he could tell what the boy was thinking, he knew well how Bo craved the closeness as much as he wanted it.

"Ah, they'll be back here soon Bo, don't 'cha worry none 'bout that now. I told Cooter he ought ta drop back here fer supper. Them too boys are just taking care of some business o' one sort o' another."

Bo nodded slowly, he should have known that. It made a great deal of sense.

"Come here now boy."

He looked up to see his uncle give him a warm smile just before he was pulled into a strong embrace. "Now, ya's been sleeping this whole day, and Cooter was by here before lunch, then Luke went with him and helped him with something. They wouldn't have if they had known ya's gonna come around, there was just no way o' telling how long ya's gonna sleep."

"I know Uncle Jesse." Bo took a deep breath as he had his cheek nuzzled against his uncles shirt. "I just feel like I've missed him in some way."

"Ya's been pretty out of it fer a week now, 'course ya missing him." Jesse smiled. "An' I'm gonna give them a call on the CB ta let them know ya's awake an' doing better. I've a feeling they's gonna hurry it home here."

Bo nodded slowly, they would, that much he knew.

"Anything ya want now?" Jesse asked before heading into the kitchen.

"Can I have something cold?" His throat still felt a bit sore and something cold would be really nice.

"Lemonade or ice cream." Jesse grinned where he was already taking out the ice cream and took down a bowl.

"Ice cream please."

Maybe he shouldn't have even bothered asking when he knew what the answer would be. Bo loved ice cream, and for him it was a comfort food as well. Lavinia had used it to comfort him when he was sick, and it worked really well. Still it was nice to give the boy a choice, and not because it seemed to make the lad twice as grateful when he got the bowl instead of the glass, but because it was one of the few things he could give him the choice of.

He took the bowl back out into the family room where Bo was sitting. Not really trusting himself to the crutches yet but worrying that he would trip over himself and fall. Watching him dig in happily Jesse headed back into the kitchen to raise the other two boys on the CB. Not asking where they were since he already knew that, and once Luke was told that Bo was awake, he didn't say anything about what they had been doing either.

He and Cooter had agreed that it would do Bo no good to know ho badly damaged the General had been. Cooter had gotten the body straightened out, and now they tried to fix the rest of the wreck. Stripping the other Charger they had gotten from the junkyard took care of a great deal, thought it did dampen the General's performance to a certain extent. The left front fender and door was the same no matter what car it came from, it was all the engine works the boys had put there that they lost when they transferred parts from the old wreck into the General. It was an old worn out engine that had never been anything special to start with.

Cooter wiped his hands on a rag as he looked at it. "Well, there's no way around it, he's gonna be a bit slow for a time here, but at least he'll be running."

"And we couldn't have afforded getting him trimmed up all at once." Luke nodded. "Working conditions fine Cooter. We can get him back to his old self in time." He grinned at Cooter as he started gathering up the tools. "Right now I reckon there's someone at the farm who's been a wearing a hole in the carpet waiting fer us ta get back there.

**"I'd say he's abut halfway through the floorboards by now, but getting the General working seems good to me…"**

A/N: Sorry this was late, but please review anyway, the cricket is hungry…..


	10. How’s the General?

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to Vinsmouse for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

* * *

Chapter 10 How's the General?

Either Luke had been bored while sitting around waiting for him, or he had known that Bo would be bored since he couldn't move around all that much yet. Either way, there was a whole pile of their older car magazines out in the family room.

Enough to give him a large selection of some fine reading. Daisy always said that she couldn't understand how they could sit and read them cover to cover. Claiming it was all boring and useless information, they both claimed it was not and Jesse said it was different tastes.

It was about cars and engines and about their performances, so of course it was interesting. There was so much they could do with the General if they had a few extra bucks. There was also the fact that no matter how much he loved the General, there was so many other things he wanted to try out. There were four by four vehicles that were perfect for off road driving, and there was cars that might look kinda boring, but boy where they fast around the track. Who wouldn't be thrilled at the prospect of doing over a hundred miles per hour, and not breaking a sweat.

Though their uncle always did, claiming he was worrying himself to death when they did that. He knew how much the boys loved it though, and he wasn't about to forbid them to do it. Something that Bo was eternally grateful for. He was a very good uncle, and he still remembered what it had been like to be young. He let them do the crazy things he claimed belonged with the young people, as long as they took responsibility for it, he didn't care too much, except for a few things. He had a few rules, but if you broke them, then you wound up in the woodshed so fast you didn't always know what had happened.

"How's apple pie sound for supper?" Jesse called from the kitchen. "Or would ya rather wait fer a day or two when ya feel better."

"Apple pie?" He looked up from the magazine.

"Yeah, thought I'd make one, but I wanted ta wait until ya's able ta enjoy it." Jesse smiled to himself as he could hear the hope in Bo's voice. Maybe the boy was up to it, and maybe he was not, but after having heard the suggestion he would be very disappointed if there wasn't any.

He looked out the window as he could hear a car coming up the road, it was Cooter and Luke in the tow truck and he smiled even wider. After all, Luke had told him that they would just wrap it up before heading back home.

"Bo!" Luke was calling out before he was even on the porch, and Jesse didn't have to peek to know how Bo would be grinning.

"Hey there buddy, looking a great deal better today." Cooter laughed as he came in right on Luke's heels.

"A lot better." Luke agreed, "how's ya feeling?"

"Better, just a bit tired and sore," he admitted. There was no way he was gonna be able to hide it from Luke anyway, Luke always knew how he felt. "Is Uncle Jesse really making apple pie?"

Luke smiled, there was no doubt about it, Bo was returning to his old self and fast. "He's making an apple pie alright, and it looks like a big one. Ya hungry?"

"I ain't eaten a lot, have I?" Bo pointed out. He wasn't as hungry as you might think, and he doubted he would be able to eat a lot, but he was hungry. He was pretty sure he could eat both supper and dessert. Especially when the smells started to come from the kitchen, suddenly he found that he had trouble concentrating on the conversation. He was surprised when he heard Cooter laughing, almost doubled over. He turned to give him a confused look.

"What's so funny?" He asked, knowing that look in his friend's eyes all to well.

"You buddy," Cooter grinned. "Ya's been staring at the kitchen for ages now, an' ain't no way ta get ya attention either. Acting like ya's been starved fer weeks."

"Give me a break, will ya, it's just that it smells real good." Bo frowned, not quite sure how much he wanted to be teased about it just yet.

"Well, I reckon that if it's any of us got the right ta enjoy a good meal, it's ya." Luke grinned. He had gotten a good look at what Jesse was making. Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and some corn cobs, all food that was well suited to Bo. Partially because he loved it, but also because it was fairly nice food. Right now Bo would be eating on a pretty much empty stomach, and the wrong kind of food would leave him with one bad belly ache. That was the last thing any of them wanted.

When Jesse was just about done, Luke went out to set the table, and then went back to help Bo. He could have helped him out there before he set the table, but that would have left him sitting and watching all the food, and it just didn't seem fair. He poured them all some milk and watched as Bo tried to cover up his desire to get started by arranging his legs under the table. Jesse knew it as well, and he was not about to let him eat without them all saying grace, but he made it shorter than he might other wise have done.

There was so much to be grateful for when Bo was there at the table with them, looking far better than he had just recently. The bruises were fading and he had a healthier colour to his cheeks.

Listening to the chorused amen's he took Bo's plate and filled it up. Not to much, better the lad took seconds than he tried to clear off a plate that had been filled with more than he could handle. When it came to food the boy didn't even have the good sense that God promised a turkey. "Take it slow now there," he said softly, as he handed him back the plate. "Ain't no hurry, though I know ya feel like ya's been starved. Still better ya take it slow than ya hurry it down and then hurry it all up again."

I know Uncle Jesse, I'll take it easy." Bo beamed at him. "Sure tastes great though."

"I'm glad that you like it son," Jesse smiled at him, glad beyond words to see him eat cheerfully, if albeit slowly. It seemed that the warning wasn't needed, because even while he chewed he had to stop for breath every now and again. Jesse kept an eye on him to make sure everything was okay, and he never really stopped smiling. How a boy could sit there and smile even while eating, and even while trying to catch his breath so that he could go on eating, well, that was Bo for you.

When he was reaching the bottom of his plate Bo had to admit that he was glad Jesse hadn't given him anymore. As it was he knew that he wouldn't be able to eat much of the pie, but there was no way they were eating it without him. It had been standing there to cool off the whole time, and it sure looked good.

Jesse cut him a small slice of it, and a generous scoop of ice cream on the side, thinking that eating most likely had been hard on his throat. Not wanting to be accused of coddling him in any way he gave Luke and Cooter a scoop of the ice cream too, neither of them would ever think about complaining.

"Have ya done anything about the General yet?" Bo didn't really want to admit that he couldn't finish the pie if he didn't take a small break to catch his breath and let what he had eaten settle. Talking with them seemed like a good way to do it without letting anyone notice that he was getting quite tired.

"He's coming along nicely." Cooter grinned, wondering how much detail he would be forced to give, and how much detail he thought he could give.

"Yeah," Luke nodded in agreement. "He'll be patched up and back in business long before ya self, so ya had better take it easy and hurry up an' heal."

"What do ya think I'm doing?" Bo frowned, it wasn't that he wasn't used to the teasing, and it wasn't like Luke wasn't right. It was just that it felt as if he was trying to cover up for something that he didn't quite want Bo to know. "How bad was he wrecked?"

"Wasn't one thing wrong with him that I can't fix." Cooter assured him hurriedly.

Bo frowned, now dropping his spoon as he gave it some serious thought. "Ya already said that Cooter, but that don't tell me nothing about how bad it was."

"That's cause it's true." Luke put in. "It ain't all that bad at all Bo, we took a bit of time to work on him today."

"That's where ya were?" Bo asked and looked between them as they nodded, then glanced at his uncle. "So how bad was it?"

"We'll have him fixed up in no-time at all." Cooter grinned.

Bo frowned, he had completely forgotten about the last bit of pie and the ice cream that was slowly melting on the side. Any time he forgot about food it tended to be a bad sign, and Jesse was pretty sure that it was.

"What's going on here?"

"What do ya mean Bo?" Luke frowned thoughtfully, not liking the tone in Bo's voice at all.

"I don't remember all o' it, but I know a bit o' it." Bo stated slowly. "An' the driver's side was really busted up, it would have ta be, I mean it trapped me. An' I know ya tore the door clean off, an' I reckon the engine was really messed up by the way it hit. An all ya saying is it wasn't nothing bad at all. We've busted 'im up good a few times, an' ya ain't ever refused ta tell me how bad before, so what's really up about it?"

"Bit o' body work, knocking out a few dents as well as replacing a few parts in the engine." Cooter shrugged.

"Ain't nothing more than a few hours worth of tinkering on him." Luke added.

"Uncle Jesse?" Bo turned to their uncle.

"I dunno nothing Bo. I ain't really seen him since." Jesse apologized.

"But they ain't telling me?1" He objected, not looking at either of them.

"Now Bo, I'm sure that if there was something wrong with the General, they'd tell ya." Jesse said soothingly, he himself wondering just why they wouldn't tell him more, but he didn't want to tell them too. "I reckon it's just what they say, nothing much at all ta bother about."

"It can't be, I don't really remember, but I know it was bad." Bo looked away as he started trying to get the crutches and push his chair away from the table. "I'm tired Uncle Jesse, I'm gonna go ta bed." He mumbled as he stood, keeping his balance while trying to sort out the crutches.

"Want a hand?" Luke asked, thinking he still looked a bit unsteady.

"I can manage just fine." Bo insisted. "Good night y'all." He made a few hops when Jesse stood up and moved to hug him.

"Ya take care now Bo, an' git some rest, an' if ya need anything, we'll be right here."

"Yeah, goodnight Uncle Jesse." He didn't really dare to sneak an arm loose to hug him back, but he leaned as far into the hug as he could get.

Once he had disappeared into the room and closed the door Jesse turned to the two remaining boys. "Now, what's up with that car that ya ain't telling Bo?"

**"It won't really matter what it is, if it's something with the General an' they ain't telling Bo, then it's bad, one way or another…" **

Please leave a review, the cricket is hungry…..


	11. We can fix him…

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to Vinsmouse for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix…. Kerry-Marie however is mine.

* * *

Chapter 11: We can fix him….

"It ain't really anything." Luke shrugged, feeling not a small bit guilty for upsetting his cousin, not to mention that it always felt bad to be under their uncle's gaze. "It's just that the body didn't look too good, and it won't do Bo any good at all ta know that. And with the hospital bill ta pay, we ain't gonna be able to afford to fix everything needing fixing anytime soon, an' he don't need ta worry about that when he ain't well."

"An' worrying about what it is y'all ain't telling him is gonna do 'im so much better ya think?" Jesse asked. "I thought ya knew ya cousin better than that Luke. He'd wanna know what happened, an' y'all ain't telling him nothing, an' he knows ya ain't."

"It looks really bad, it ain't as bad as it looks, but it looks bad." Cooter stated slowly. "We's worried that knowing that would make him wonder how's he was able ta get through it."

"I think that Bo would be able to handle that." Jesse said softly as he cleared his youngest nephew's plate off the table. "I also think that even if he can't, it's up to him if he wants ta know about it."

"But what if it starts making him feel depressed or something?" Luke wondered. "Ya know how sensitive he can be at times. I ain't sure that it's a good idea ta let him know about it. Might just make everything worse."

"I'm pretty sure that ya's making it worse right now." Jesse told them. "An I don't wanna hear about the two of ya not being honest wi' him, even if ya think ya's protecting him. Ya's gotta leave that choice ta Bo."

"Yes sir." Luke gave in. "Want me ta go an' talk wi' him?"

"Might not be a bad idea." Jesse nodded. "See if he feels like finishing that ice cream will ya, reckon it might be good fer his throat."

"Okay." Luke took the plate from the counter where Jesse had put it and headed for the boys room. "Hey Bo, wanna finish yer ice cream." He asked as he saw Bo stretched out on his bed.

"I ain't hungry." Bo mumbled.

"Bo, come on." Luke sighed. "I'm sorry fer that out there, but ya see, we just wanted ta give ya a bit o' time."

"How bad did the General get messed up?" Bo demanded and Luke could see Jesse was right. He wasn't sure Bo could really handle knowing, but it wouldn't do him any good if he wasn't even told about it.

"Pretty bad," he admitted as he handed Bo the plate. At least he was eating of the ice cream as he sat up. Giving Luke a suspicious look, and yes Jesse had been right. If they hadn't told him, Bo might have wound up not trusting him. "We can fix it, but it's gonna be more'n a few hours work, and we ain't gonna be able to afford getting him ta prime anytime soon." He sat down beside Bo and noted how he shifted to allow for his leg even while scooting closer. It seemed he still wanted to seek out a bit of comfort so Luke put a hand on his back.

"Cooter an' me got an old 69 Charger we's breaking up for parts, an' it's gonna take care o' most of it. We can have him running and painted in two weeks just about, but I ain't sure we'll be able to have him back to his old self while we still have all the bills to pay." That was about as honest as he could make it.

"Why wouldn't ya tell me?" Bo asked thoughtfully as he put another spoon of the ice cream inside his mouth.

"We's afraid that it'd wear on ya knowing how bad it looked." Luke admitted. "Bo, we's both been seeing that car and wondering how's we were able to get away from that kind of wreck without a scratch, an' it can wear on ya."

"Specially since it was more'n a scratch, huh?" Bo asked.

"Yeah." Luke nodded slowly. "I was just so worried about ya."

"It was the worst wreck I've ever been in," Bo stated softly. "An I ain't so sure tearing down the road's gonna be the first thing I'll be doing when they's finally take that dang thing of my leg." He grinned at Luke. "So the General and I 's gonna be a bit slow at first. That's not so bad is it? Give the rest o' ya a chance to catch up." He grinned as he scraped up the last of the ice cream and licked off the spoon. "Do ya suppose we'd be able ta talk Uncle Jesse into giving me more 'o this?" He grinned.

"I'll do my best for ya." Luke promised as he took the plate. He really should have known Jesse was always right.

"What did he say?" Jesse asked as he came back out into the kitchen.

"Well, I told him about the General." Luke told them.

"And?" Cooter asked worriedly.

"He wants to know if he can have more ice cream?" Luke grinned at their uncle.

"He can have it all fer all I care." Jesse grinned. "Long as I got the lad back, I couldn't be caring less if he cleans it all out. We can git more in town."

"Want me to tell him that?" Luke asked jokingly as he scooped up some more on Bo's plate. Not more than he thought he would be able to finish off.

Jesse shook his head with a big grin. "Nah, I don't think ya'll have ta. I know that boy half as well as I think, it ain't gonna take him long ta figure it out on his own."

"I could bring ya some more next time I drop by." Cooter offered. Eager to make up for his part of the failure to fully trust Bo. He should have known that Bo wouldn't freak out completely on them, but they were in new territory here.

"Don't worry about it Cooter." Jesse told him, he had allowed the mechanic to help out as much as he wanted, but there were limits for what he would agree to. Cooter running errands to the store for them was something that he was not going to agree to. "I need ta be doing some shopping anyways, an' we's got enough ta last us till then."

Luke chuckled as he brought the ice cream back to Bo. "Here ya go Bo." He grinned as he handed Bo the plate.

"Thanks." Bo grinned as he took it, "feels really good, my throat's sore."

"Yeah, well ya eat that ice cream then and ya'll be feeling a lot better." Luke smiled even as he noticed how Bo started to look more tired. Well, he wasn't really surprised, the boy needed a lot of rest before he was fully recovered. "Are ya gonna finish it, or are ya gonna fall asleep with ya face in ya bowl."

"Finish it, then fall asleep." Bo looked at him smiling sleepily. He blinked and looked at Luke, "ya know, I didn't know I 's this tired."

"Well, don't worry about it, ya know how it is when ya's been sick Bo. Just give it a bit o' time an' ya'll be fine."

"I know that." Bo mumbled as he again scraped up the last of the ice cream with his spoon. The way his throat felt he was sure it all just melted as soon as it hit the back of his mouth because his throat was burning. "Don't mean I ain't had enough o' it though."

"I wouldn't think so." Luke smiled at him as he took the empty plate. "I know ya's just about fed up with it, but there ain't all that much ta do about it now, cept get ya well as fast as we can."

"Umm," Bo nodded slowly. "I think I'll sleep now."

"Ya do that, I'll see ya in the morning." He bent down and ruffled his hair lightly. He doubted that Bo would mind since Luke was normally the one who avoided open signs of affection. "Night Bo."

"Night Luke." Bo shifted a bit as he tried to pull the blanket to cover his leg better. He hated the fact that he couldn't lie the way he wanted. He was already tired of having to adjust to it. There was nothing anyone could do about it though, and complaining about it wouldn't change anything. He already knew that well enough so all there was to do about it was deal with it.

Besides he was tired enough to fall asleep even if he was uncomfortable.

He didn't even wake up when Luke came into the room, but Luke headed over to his bed and pulled the cover back up before he started to undress. A life long habit of looking after Bo, combined with the knowledge that Bo always seemed to throw off the cover as he slept. Especially if there was a reason for him to keep it up.

No, not always, he had been hugging it close while he was sick. Unless he got too hot for a bit, then he would throw it off, and five minutes later he was groaning and muttering in his sleep until Luke woke up and pulled it back up for him.

**"Ya know, now that they told him an' all, I'm beginning to think we can solve this mess. And aren't those two boys sweet sleeping like that?"**

/Please leave a review, the cricket is hungry…..


	12. Care For A Doughnut?

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

_**The Days After The Night Before

* * *

**_

**Chapter 12: Care For A Doughnut?**

"Hey, Luke where's ya going."

Luke grinned as he saw Bo coming towards him, Bo had been moving around on his own the last few days, though he was still a bit slow about it. First it would only be when he was moving from one piece of furniture to another, and Jesse had been very vigilant to make sure he wasn't over doing it.

He would be calling to him to sit down for a few minutes, often putting a plate of ice cream before him since that always worked. Even if he was starting to get better he still had a very sore throat so ice cream was the one thing he ate the most of.

Then Bo had started to make his way outside, something that had taken a bit of time since he was slightly insecure on the crutches. Luke suspected that he felt vulnerable. He had both his hands occupied with the task of moving forwards, and he certainly felt more vulnerable after the crash.

So instead of rushing to it as he usually did he had been moving right beside Luke. Trusting his cousin to make sure that he didn't get hurt when he was at it. Now Luke had already been outside, and Bo was apparently tired of being cooped up on the farm when Luke was obviously going off somewhere else in the pick up.

"I'm gonna head over to Cooter's." Luke told him.

"The General?" Bo asked softly as he it was the only reason he could think of that Luke would be heading over to Cooter' right now.

"Yeah." Luke nodded, he had been trying to protect Bo from knowing just how bad the crash was, and it had turned out to be a very bad idea. "Wanna come along?" He wasn't sure that was the best idea either, but he guessed that was up to Bo to decide for himself.

"Yeah." Bo grinned at him, if nothing else Luke could tell he welcomed the chance to get away from the farm for a few hours.

"Okay, I'll just tell Jesse that ya's coming with me." Luke ran the steps up to the porch and inside. If Jesse got the idea to look around for Bo and couldn't find him right now, then he would be panicking, and Luke could understand it. So he ran in and told Jesse that he would be taking Bo with him; and he would make sure he didn't strain himself to hard, and he would make sure nothing happened to him, and he would keep an eye on him and so would Cooter.

Then he ran back outside where Bo was leaning against the passenger side of the pick up. Luke opened the door for him and helped him inside. Knowing that would be one of the things where Bo would be worried he'd fall.

Five minutes down the road Bo turned to Luke. "Was it an order from Jesse, or did ya load a truck load of eggs in the back when I wasn't watching?" He asked with a knowing grin.

"Driving too slow?" Luke asked him with a guilty grin.

Bo shrugged. "I actually kinda appreciate ya keeping the speed limit today, but well, ya don't have to go that far below it."

"Sorry," it hadn't really been a conscious act, it was just an instinct to go slower. He pressed down on the gas pedal a bit harder, still under the speed limit though. This was one day he didn't want to have to run from Rosco. It was strange though, they drove past two of his favorite speed traps, and no sign of him. Yet there was no police cars outside the police station.

"Where's Rosco?" Luke asked as he pulled up outside Cooter's garage.

"Ain't seen him all day, how's ya doing Bo?" Cooter grinned as he opened the passenger door and helped Bo out. "They's been keeping really busy of late, no idea what they's doing."

"How's the General?" Bo asked as he tried to peer inside the garage.

"He's doing pretty good given the circumstances." Cooter beamed, happy that they had been able to take care of a lot of the body work. He still needed a new paintjob, because he wasn't all orange but more of a spotted car with the fender and the door the wrong colour. At the moment Cooter had been focusing on the engine though. The painting would be the last thing he did.

Bo hopped inside and ran a hand over the new fender. "Sorry 'bout messing ya up like this General," he mumbled.

Cooter and Luke was grinning, glad he was taking it so well.

Even though they had both agreed that they couldn't shelter Bo from it, after having it so bluntly pointed out to them, that didn't mean they weren't worried as Bo came face to face with the result.

Luke was watching him closely, and he could see the tell tale signs that Bo was a bit upset about it. For one thing he wasn't smiling, for another there was a pained look in his eyes, and Luke just knew it was not because of his leg this time.

He and Bo had overturned the General more then once, he'd been upside down, he'd been on his side. Jesse claimed that they had wrecked him in every way there was, and then invented some more. It wasn't the crash, it was being stuck inside the General with water up to his neck that had gotten to Bo. That was what he had to work against.

Cooter walked up to him, not wanting him to focus on the bad part of the experience and patted his shoulder. Smiling at him as Bo looked up and met his eye. "Come on buddy, lets see what we can do about him, shall we?" He beamed as he handed Bo a wrench. Bo grinned back as he took it, glad for the distraction.

Luke grinned as Bo pushed himself up to sit on the radiator, leaning the crutches against the car as he reached into the engine. It was a quite serious disadvantage for him since it compromised his balance. Bo seemed determined not to let that stop him though. Soon enough he wasn't only leaning over the engine, but after Luke stepped out to get them some doughnuts and beer he came back and saw Bo in under the car. Helping Cooter with one of the more stubborn bolts.

"Hey y'all, lunch time." Luke grinned, knowing all too well what their uncle would say about hearing doughnuts and beer labeled 'lunch.'

He put the box down on the engine and then waited as Cooter helped Bo up before handing them each a can. Once more Bo hitched himself up to sit on the fender rather than stand leaning against the car, though this time it was most likely because the crutches were out of reach.

Standing around the car, and sitting on it together was the reason why they had such an easy relationship and why it worked so well. There was so many ways to be able to enjoy yourself while tinkering with a beloved car such as the General.

Cooter laughed as he teased Bo about a grease stain on his cheek, while Bo replied that if it wasn't for the grease stains, no one would recognize Cooter. Once more it brought home to Luke just how close he had gotten to losing his younger cousin. He had been trying not to think that way, but he couldn't help it. Listening to Bo's breathing as the younger boy fell asleep at night, seeing that tussled mop of blonde hair that always stood at end in the morning. It meant so much more to him than he had known, and suddenly, he wanted to make sure that he fully appreciated it while he had it.

He was deep in thought, but instinctively reached over and grabbed Bo's shoulder to steady him as he reached for another doughnut and nearly overbalanced. Bo didn't really pay too much attention to it, more than grinning at him and offering him another doughnut himself.

He didn't really like the way he was thinking, and neither did Cooter judging by the look on his face.

"What?" Suddenly Bo was looking between the two of them with a mouthful of doughnuts and a frown on his face. Trying to figure out what was going on.

"Nothing Bo." Luke smiled at him, hoping to comfort him before he started pondering things like that. Bo was the more innocent out of the two of them, and he would rather keep him that way. "I was just thinking Bo, I do too much of that at times ya know."

"Yeah, ya should stop it Lukas." Bo grinned at him, not completely convinced, but willing to let it go. "Look at Cooter here, he ain't ever thought as much as once in his life, an' he's just as happy for it."

"Why ya, dang brat." Cooter leaned over and pretended to mock punch Bo. Normally the punch would have been real, but he didn't want to unbalance Bo right now.

Bo in turn laughed at begged Luke to protect him from the crazy mechanic. While Luke moved the food to a more secure place on top of a barrel. In the end Cooter had Bo placed on the roof instead of the fender, telling him that he would have to stay there until he had decided to behave again. Luke moved the food back and Bo laid down on his stomach so that he could still reach them.

That was the situation being more or less back to normal, and Luke was enjoying it very much.

**"Sure looks normal to me, now, I wonder if it will stay that way….."**

/Please leave a review, the cricket is hungry…..


	13. Up On The Roof

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

* * *

**The Days After The Night Before**

_**Chapter 13: Up On The Roof**_

Luke and Cooter went back to work while Bo remained seated on the roof eating a last doughnut. Grinning at them and not really caring that he was not within easy reach from the floor anymore. Luke figured that he'd let him stay there where he would presumably be out of trouble for the time being. He wasn't sure if there was any way to completely keep him out of any kind of trouble, but he reckoned that was about as close as you would get.

At least where he was he could keep an eye on him. It was kinda funny in a way, there was people that Luke guessed would have claimed that there was no way to be comfortable on the roof of a car, especially not with a broken leg. Yet after a few minutes Bo had stretched out on his back, his legs going down the back window, and he looked to be quite comfortable. Smiling softly when Cooter asked if he wanted his pillow and teddy bear so he could get a really nice nap.

Luke looked at him, deciding that he did actually look a bit tired. It was no wonder really, it was the first time he had really been up and doing something since the accident. Luke had already guessed that it would be tiring him. He glanced down to the far side of the garage where Cooter kept an old backseat ripped out of a car.

"Bo, why don't cha' go over there for a bit?" He hoped Bo wouldn't think he was acting the mother hen and get annoyed at him. It didn't seem like it luckily enough.

"Doesn't sound too bad." Bo answered sleepily, even accepting Luke's help to get down from the General's roof while Cooter handed him the crutches. There was a lot of junk spread out in the garage, but Luke let him maneuver that on his own, or he had a feeling it would be too much mothering for Bo.

Two minutes later when he glanced towards the backseat Bo was asleep.

Cooter turned to face Luke, grinning while motioning towards Bo. "Ya know Luke, I ain't seen him that tuckered out in here, since before he started high school."

Luke nodded. "Me neither, let's finish up here, an' then I think it's time I got him back home."

"Yeah." Cooter nodded grinning. "If we don't, I bet Uncle Jesse ain't gonna be too happy with us."

"Yeah." Luke nodded as he glanced over at his cousin.

He was finishing up when he heard Bo starting to toss and turn where he slept. Mumbling uneasily in his sleep.

"Nightmare?" Cooter asked concerned.

"Yeah." Luke nodded as he walked over and knelt beside him, shaking his shoulder gently. "Hey Bo, about time ta get home."

"Luke?" There was a scared look in his eyes as he woke up and focused on his older cousin.

"Yeah, I'm here cousin, don't worry." Luke gave him a reassuring smile. "Time ta head back home though."

"Okay." Bo sat up and rubbed his knuckles over his eyes. Luke had woken him up before the dream got too bad, but it had been bad enough as long as it lasted and he was actually relieved that Luke had woke him when he had.

"See ya later buddyro." Cooter grinned at him as Bo followed Luke out to the pick up and got in.

* * *

Back at the farm, Bo pushed the door open and tried to wrestle out the crutches as Luke came around the pick up. Sensing that he wanted to get it under control on his own Luke let him. It was hard to make yourself let go and stand back as he eased himself off the car seat, but he did it. Only walking up to him as Bo headed for the farm house.

"Thanks Luke," Bo mumbled as he started up the porch steps.

"I ain't done anything Bo." Luke shook his head. Since the two doors were both open there was no need for him to do anything but keep a watchful eye on his cousin.

"Yer doing a lot of things Luke." Bo turned his head to smile at him. "I just, I'm kinda stuck with that dang thing on my leg fer now, an' I'm gonna have ta learn how ta get around here anyway."

Luke nodded slowly, he knew the feeling. "I know Bo, an' ya doing great, just promise me ya'll let me help ya when ya need it, okay?"

Bo nodded. "I ain't gonna do something I know I can't handle Luke." He beamed at him. "That's why the good lord gave us cousins right, ta do the things we can't fer us?"

Luke found himself throwing his head back and laughing. It was just like Bo to say something like that. He knew what he meant, that it would fall to Luke to do the chores Bo couldn't, and that Bo would gladly pass on a few of them to him. Neither of them really enjoyed mucking out the stall, but it had to be done.

"And I bet there is a few of them you won't be losing sleep to let me do fer ya." He grinned. "I'll do them though, but only for as long as I have to…."

"Thanks Luke." Bo grinned at him. "Wasn't there some of that pie left?"

"We still got some ice cream left, yeah." Luke told him headed over to the cabinet to get a plate.

"That wasn't what I was asking Luke." Bo pointed out with a guilty grin.

"But it was what ya was after…." Luke grinned as he put the plate on the table and got the ice cream. Loading a few scoops on two plates, before breaking up the last of the pie and dividing that too between the two plates. "Ya can have it, but this round ya's gonna have to share."

"I don't mind." Bo grinned at him, especially since he noticed how one plate had a larger share than the other one. Luke was still doing the mother hen, that was only to easy to tell. Especially when Luke poured his lemonade for him. Once he was seated at the table and had propped the crutches against it, he had his hands free and there was no reason why he couldn't do that for himself.

He took the plate Luke pushed towards him, and knew that Luke had been more generous to him, if one share was larger by coincidence, there was no reason why he'd wind up with it.

"Thanks," he said again.

Luke looked up at him with a small frown, wondering what he could be thanking him for now. "I reckon we'd better use our one good excuse fer this while we still have it." He shrugged.

"It really does makes my throat feel better though." Bo looked up, "but I reckon I might be doing it too much anyway."

"Don't worry about it, Jesse ain't said nothing about it yet. It's okay Bo, and if it makes you feel better, then that's great."

Bo nodded slowly and started eating again. Sometimes his emotions would be jumping all over the scale with him. One moment he was as scared as he had been when he was trapped in the car, the next he felt brave enough to go after whoever did it with crutches and all. He'd be furious at Luke for some reason he couldn't figure out, wanting to cling to him for life, only to wind up not knowing if he should laugh or cry.

His emotions had been doing that to him ever since the crash.

"What's that frown for Bo?" Luke asked softly, and Bo hadn't even realized he had stopped eating before then.

He picked up the spoon again with a guilty grin. "I's just tryin' to figure something out."

"What? Maybe I can help." Luke leaned forward as he made the offer and Bo smiled. The look on Luke's face, the one he always wore when he was trying to come up with a plan. When Luke gave you that look, there was no way to make him give up before he had succeeded. Bo had seen it enough times to know just how determined Luke could be. If he didn't tell him, Luke would be working on it for days until he had finally figured it out.

He might as well admit it now and save himself the trouble. "It's just weird Luke, have ya ever been switching back and forth between so many weird emotions that ya hardly know what ya feel any given moment?" He looked at Luke expectantly, in his eyes Luke was still the hero that could do anything.

Luke nodded slowly, giving him a small smile. "A time or two, there was a short time after I got back from the Marines when I felt like that." He looked Bo in the eyes and gave him a bigger smile. "It ain't something that ya need ta worry about. Most likely it's cause ya mind is trying to decide how it feels about the crash."

Bo frowned as he started to scrape up the last pie from his plate. "I've been in plenty o' wrecks afore, an' it ain't ever been like this." He turned those big eyes to his cousin and Luke smiled.

"Yeah, ya have Bo, an' most often we just laugh at it and call Cooter. But this time was different fer ya, I reckon that there is a part of ya that just wants to laugh and walk away like we's always done, but it don't work this time, so ya's trying to figure out how ya should feel instead. It's confusing, I know, but it's nothing ya need to worry about."

"But Luke, sometimes I feel like I'm angry, and I don't know whom I'm even angry at, what if I go snapping off at someone?" Bo pleaded.

"Bo, if that should happen, we understand." Luke said trying to comfort him. "But I doubt that ya will, ya ain't done it yet. It's okay fer ya to feel angry, just let us know if'n ya do, okay?"

Bo nodded slowly, his plate now clean. "It's just so confusing," he mumbled.

"I know Bo, I know." Luke smiled at him again. "Don't worry about it. It's gonna work out okay in time. Ya just need to come to terms with it."

"How long's that gonna take?" Bo asked and Luke was once more amazed with his complete faith in his older cousin. The age difference was still there but it wasn't as obvious anymore. Sure, anyone they met could tell that Bo was the younger one. He looked to be even younger than he was. There were those that would say there was no way he was past eighteen, and yet he was. Even when they chased girls as if they were the same age down to the day, a part of him was always aware that Bo was younger. That was the part that always got so amazed when it realized exactly how Bo looked at him.

"I don't know." Luke just wished that he could give him better answers for his faith. "There is no way to tell Bo. It could be that it sorts out fer ya next week, but maybe it will hold on fer as long as ya have that cast."

Bo gave him a thoughtful look. "What if I could figure it out first? Would it stop then?"

Luke decided not to tell him that it was what it was all about, that he had to figure out how he felt about it. Instead he nodded. "I think so Bo."

He was really proud of Bo, sitting down and figuring it all out by reasoning with Luke. Okay, so he wasn't able to figure out all of it. Yet he sure got going into the right direction. It made Luke wonder if the accident had changed Bo in some way. Since he didn't really wait for Luke to tell him the answer, but made Luke help him find it. It wasn't quite the way Bo usually did it. He was showing a slight bit more independence than he usually did.

Luke wasn't sure if it was a good or a bad thing at the moment. It could be that Bo was learning to be more independent, but it could also be that after the night alone in the car he didn't trust anyone else to really be there.

He hoped with all his heart that it wasn't the latter one, he couldn't take it if that was how it was. Sometimes it was hard for him to tell no matter how well he knew Bo. He took the plates and put them in the sink to be washed later.

**"Well, I don't know either, but I just can not see that boy not trusting his cousin..."**

/Please leave a review, the cricket is hungry…..


	14. The Nature of a Guitar

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

* * *

**The Days After The Night Before**

_**Chapter 14: The Nature of a Guitar**_

"Wanna play some checkers?" It would be one way to amuse Bo he supposed.

He was almost surprised when Bo shook his head that he didn't want that.

"We've been playing so much checkers I see a checker board every time I close my eyes." Bo complained.

"What do ya wanna do then?" Luke asked softly, there wasn't all that much for them to do that didn't involve the General.

"How about grab them guitars and go sit outside fer a bit?" Bo suggested hopefully. "Kerry-Marie was singing this new song she had heard for me, an' I promised her I'd see if I could figure out how to play it."

"Sounds good to me." Luke grinned, it was an activity he could agree with. "Dang hot outside though, so if we's gonna sit out there fer some time I'm getting some lemonade for us as well."

"Ya ain't gonna hear me complain." Bo beamed at him. It sounded perfect to him.

Luke chuckled. "Alright, ya get out there, I'll bring the guitars and get some lemonade." He had to make two trips with everything or risk dropping either guitars or lemonade. Bo had taken his seat on the porch swing while Luke sat down on the steps, leaning against the post.

Bo tried a few experimental notes before sighing. "It's out of tune again…."

Luke chuckled, "Bo, it's a guitar, it's in his nature to be out of tune."

"Yeah, I guess, ol' Lukas here always is." Bo patted the wooden casing lovingly.

"Lukas," Luke burst out baffled. "Don't tell me ya call it Lukas."

"Sure do." Bo beamed at him innocently.

"Why?" Luke demanded crossing his arms over his own guitar.

"Cause the more out of key he gets, the more like your singing he sounds." Bo fell out in a giggle, near falling off the porch swing. Normally he would never have dared to say that, but he figured he might as well make use of the fact that Luke would not resort to physical punishment right now.

Luke glared at him. "That's really cute, ya know that?"

"Yeah, that's why I named him that." Bo beamed again. He wasn't gonna tell Luke that there was a completely different reason why the guitar was called Lukas. Because when he was younger Luke would play for him. When Bo got his own guitar he had named it Lukas cause he wanted to learn how to make it sound like Luke's guitar. He just didn't want to let Luke know that, in case he would start to tease him about it.

There was some things he just didn't want to be teased about, the name of his guitar was one. As far as he knew Luke had never named his, so just the fact that it had a name might be enough to make his cousin tease him.

It didn't take him too long to get it in tune either. Both of them were well experienced on how to get an un-tuned guitar back in tune. In fact, he never minded all that much since the routine was so familiar and soothing. It was only annoying the few times you were trying to impress a girl. For some reason a guitar that was out of tune never seemed to do the trick, and they could be far too impatient for a careful tuning.

As soon as both boys were finished they settled down to play. Bo ran through it a few experimental turns to see how it would go like. The first one Luke only listened but then he joined in as they figured it out together. They had used the guitars to impress girls many, many times.

Bring the guitars along on a picnic and you were hard pressed to get anything but success. Daisy would tease them about it, but she enjoyed hearing them play and sing as well.

"So, the next time ya meet her, ya's intending to try an' impress her with that one." Luke asked with a grin.

"Sure do." Bo grinned. "I figured I'd ask her to come over here some evening." She had called quite a few times after she heard about the accident to make sure that Bo was doing okay.

"A date here on the farm." Luke frowned thoughtfully.

"Not exactly, it's weird Luke, she's something halfway in between a girlfriend and a friend." Bo tried to explain it while he absently plucked at the strings.

Luke tilted his head back and laughed at him.

"Luke…"

He stopped laughing when he heard the tone in Bo's voice. The one that meant that taking it any further would be to take it too far. Instead he looked at his younger cousin, seeing the look on his face that nearly made him start laughing again.

"I ain't making fun of ya Bo." He assured him. "But the thought of ya not chasing a girl for long enough to be her friend is a new one."

"That don't mean ya's got to laugh at me." Bo told him in an annoyed voice, and Luke got worried that he had already taken it too far. Some said Bo was too touchy yet you had to keep in mind at the moment that he was still feeling insecure after the accident. He put down his guitar and moved to the porch swing draping an arm over his cousin's shoulders.

Bo gave him a small frown, but then he leaned against Luke to make good of the comfort that his cousin offered. Luke smiled at him chucking his chin. "I am not making fun of ya, ya have my word on that."

Bo looked up at him, when he wanted something Bo had a puppy dog look that could turn the heart of any man. Now, it was a look of such immense trust that it nearly set Luke back apace. He nodded and gave a small smile while Luke gave his shoulders a small squeeze before going back down to his guitar.

He could tell that Bo was back at ease again. Picking up the glass of lemonade between the songs, sipping it and laughing at the jokes they made.

When he started on the supper Jesse could still hear them at it. If he ever wanted to listen to music while he was in the kitchen he could easily turn on the radio, or the kids did have a small collection of records. Daisy more so than the boys, he had just never bothered to. This however was different. Having the boys out on the porch singing and playing while he was preparing the dinner was a true pleasure.

A few times he found that he had forgotten about what he was doing and instead stood and simply listened. Luke usually had a slightly darker voice than Bo, but now you could hardly tell their voices apart. He walked over to the open door and stood there for a few minutes while the stew was simmering on the stove. Looking out at them without them knowing about it. Not spying on them, just so very proud of them.

He was almost sad to break it up, but he really had to. Going out onto the porch he allowed them to finish the song they were playing just then.

"Alright ya two boys, suppers ready." He told them cheerfully.

"Daisy's eating wi' us?" Bo looked up at him.

"She's at work already." Jesse reached out a hand and helped him to his feet while Luke handed him the crutches. Luke brought the empty glasses and pitcher inside with them, but left the guitars where they were.

It didn't matter since they might continue to play after supper, and even if they didn't they wouldn't take any harm from it. He could easily bring them back inside later.

"Smells great Uncle Jesse." Bo had paused at the stove with his nose over the pot on his way to the table.

"An smelling's all ya's gonna do if ya don't sit ya end down at that there table." Jesse told him in a gruff manner as he shooed him away from the stove. "An there ain't gonna be no sneaking while I say the good lords grace either." He just knew that it would get a chuckle from the boy. Bo continued his way around the table and sat down. Balancing the crutches against the table and giving a shrug as they fell down to the floor.

Yet he obediently folded his hands and kept them folded away from the food while Jesse said the grace.

"The two of ya sounded mighty good out there." He told them as he filled their plates for them.

"Thanks Uncle Jesse." Luke took the first plate and passed it on to Bo. "Bo's finally learned how to tune that thing. Did a world of difference."

"Cute." Bo gave him a half glared as he started cutting the bread.

"Well, it kept ya from sounding like someone who stepped on the tail of a cat." Luke went on.

"As opposed to ya' self then." Bo passed out the slices of corn bread.

"I've never sounded like that." Luke objected.

Bo shook his head. "Might be right Luke, think it was closer to the sound of a dying octopus."

"An how'd ya know how that'd sound." Luke wanted to know.

"Well, I've heard ya play, an' that's it." Bo grinned at him, knowing that for once he had come out the victor of their banter.

"Ya had better watch ya mouth Bo." Luke told him. "No one likes a kid that's always getting smart with ya."

Bo shrugged and took up his spoon to start eating his stew. Jesse was wondering if he and his brothers ever went on like that. Most likely they had. They had all loved each other dearly and he could remember quite a few times of friendly banter between them. Yet those two boys seemed to be able to take it to a whole new level.

"Cat or not it don't really matter ta me," he told them. "The way that sounds I wouldn't mind at all if ya took it up again after supper. I'd just as soon listen ta the two of ya as the radio."

Both of them shone up. It might be Daisy who were always trying to write her songs, while the two boys claimed to be far more interested in a career in NASCAR than in music. Yet that was not to say that they didn't like it. Had the three of them worked together and decided to go for it, he didn't doubt that they would be able to succeed. All three of them seemed to think it was a nice enough hobby.

"Ya reckon them guitars have had time ta go out of tune while we were eating?" Bo frowned at the end of the meal. Using a bit of bread to scrape his plate clean.

"They are guitars, of course they had time to get out of tune." Luke informed him. "Didn't we discuss this earlier?"

Bo shook his head. "Nah, we just said it was in their nature to get out of tune, we never said anything about how long it took them."

"Why don't the two of ya git out there and find out." Jesse told them, picking up Bo's crutches from the floor and handing them to him. "I'll take care of the dishes."

"Thanks Uncle Jesse." Bo took them from him and pulled himself up from the table. "We could do it though."

Jesse shook his head, it would be one excuse to be in the kitchen where he could hear them before he took care of the chores out in the barn. "Probably shouldn't sing though Bo, go easier on ya throat."

"Okay Uncle Jesse, I'll leave it to Luke." He smiled at his uncle as he followed his cousin out on the porch again. Once more sitting down on the porch swing and taking up his guitar, noting that it hadn't made any major attempts at getting out of key.

An hour later Luke took the guitar out of Bo's hands as the younger of the two cousins had fallen asleep on the porch swing. He draped a blanket over him and headed down to the barn to give their uncle a hand.

"Bo fell asleep." He smiled gently as he took up a pitchfork to start mucking out Maudine the mule's stall.

"Well, let him sleep fer a bit then, probably just needs a nap." Jesse stated thoughtfully.

"That's what I thought." Luke agreed. "I thought I'd give him half an hour. More than that and I'm afraid he ain't gonna sleep tonight."

Half an hour later he went back up to the house to check on his cousin. Bo had shifted so the blanket had fallen off him and he was now shivering slightly in the colder evening air. Not much, only enough that Luke could notice it. Taking the two guitars back in their room he went back to wake him up.

"Hey buddy, wake up." He shook his shoulder gently.

Bo opened his eyes and looked up at him before rubbing at his eyes with his knuckles. "Did I fall asleep?" He asked sleepily.

"Yeah." Luke nodded. "Time ta get ya inside. What do ya say about a sandwich afore we go ta bed?"

"Sounds great, bed time already?" Bo looked around for the crutches before he saw Luke holding them. He accepted Luke's hand to pull him to his feet.

"Not quite, but we're getting there, an' I sure think a snack would be nice." Luke grinned at him.

Bo followed him inside and pulled the door to the fridge open, looking around to see what they could get to eat. Soon both of them were sitting at the table with a sandwich each.

"**Well, if anyone can find anything good to eat in there, he will."**

/Please leave a review, the cricket is hungry…..


	15. Thank You

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

* * *

**The Days After The Night Before**

**_Chapter 15: Thank You_**

Bo kept to the farm the day after, apparently worn out from the previous day. He moved out to the porch swing after breakfast, and then followed Luke to the barn to keep him company while he did the chores.

That was one thing that was worrying Luke, Bo moving around more was good but he also was wearing himself out doing it. He seemed to be determined to keep up with Luke as he normally did. While it was a good sign that he wanted to, Luke was worried it would be too much for him.

He had been following back and forth over the yard the whole morning, and when Luke got up to mend the barn roof after lunch Bo got up to go with him.

"Hold it there Bo, ya ain't gonna be able ta git up on that there roof." Jesse said as he shook his head.

"I wasn't gonna Uncle Jesse." Bo told him.

"Why don't ya sit down for a spell then?" Jesse asked softly. "Ya's been up an' around all day.

Luke was inclined to agree, the day before he had fallen asleep once at Cooter's and then on the porch swing. Now, he was starting to look really tired.

"I'm fine Uncle Jesse." Bo shrugged, he was tired of having to take it easy. Even though he knew deep inside that it was a stupid idea he was trying to deny to himself how weary he was.

"Bo, ya had a mighty busy day yesterday, we's just thinking maybe ya should take it a bit easy today." Jesse suggested.

Bo shook his head. "I've had all I can take o' taking it easy. I 's just gonna go over there anyway, it ain't hard at all."

"Ya sure?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, I'm sure." Bo was starting to get annoyed, and with that even more determined not to let anything slow him down. Luke recognized the signs, so he backed down. Knowing that the more they tried to make him take it easy, the more determined Bo would be to prove that he could handle it.

However Bo soon figured out that merely standing around and watching as Luke was up on the roof was mighty boring and he headed back towards the house.

Luke up on the roof had kept a very close eye on him, so when Bo moved away he followed him with his eyes. He was half way to the ladder when one of Bo's crutches slipped on a loose rock and Bo fell as he lost his balance.

He hurried down the ladder and over to where Bo had pulled himself up to sitting.

"Are ya okay Bo?" Luke asked, concerned as he knelt beside him.

"Yeah." Bo looked at him, a bit of guilt in his eye. "I just slipped Luke, I'm okay."

"Now do ya believe us when we say ya should be taking it easy?" Luke chided gently.

"Luke, I just tripped on that dang rock." Bo objected, even though he knew that Luke knew it wasn't all true.

"Because ya was tired, yeah." Luke nodded. "Does it hurt anywhere?" He asked, given the way Bo was rubbing his wrist he was waiting for an affirmative answer. Anything else and he was gonna have a talk with Bo, a very serious one.

He didn't have to, Bo gave a small nod. "My wrist is sore." He admitted.

Luke nodded, it was what he had expected. "See now why ya should take it easy?" he asked. "The last thing ya need now is a sprained or broken wrist. Come on, lets git ya inside an' have Uncle Jesse take a look at that."

Luke pulled him to his feet and wrapped an arm around his waist to help him inside. Easing him down on the couch before fetching their uncle. Bo wearing an expression of embarrassed guilt the whole time.

"Ya never did know when it was time ta take it easy fer a bit." Jesse sighed softly as he sat down beside him. Then he ruffled his hair to show that the grumpiness in his voice was only out of concern. "Lets take a look at that shall we?"

He took Bo's wrist in his hands and examined it carefully. It was to be expected that he would be sore, but it didn't seem to be sprained, so if he just stayed put for the rest of the evening, Jesse guessed that he would be as good as new the next day.

"Nothing that won't heal over night." He told Bo gently, "but fer the rest of this day, ya's staying put where ya are, got it?"

"Yes sir," Bo nodded slowly. "I'm sorry Uncle Jesse."

"I know Bo, but ya's gotta learn fer ya 'self when's it time ta back off." Jesse chided him gently. "What if ya had broken that there arm instead, then ya'd have really been stuck doing nothing."

Bo nodded, he knew that. Now that he was sitting still he was also starting to nod off. It didn't take five minutes before he was asleep. Luke went back to fix the barn roof and Jesse sighed softly. He loved them two boys to distraction, but half the time he didn't know what to do with them.

Those were the times where he wondered if things would have been better if his brothers had lived to raise their children. The three wouldn't have been as close as they were, but maybe then there would have been more than three. He knew that Bo had been planned to have a younger sibling. Most likely there would have been a baby for Daisy as well.

While the three of them was the most precious thing he had ever had in his life, he could not always help thinking that maybe their parents would have done a better job, maybe they could have kept them safe where he did not seem able to.

Those were the times when he blamed himself for the two of them being on probation. While it was far better than prison, it was no life for two young boys. Having that kind of restriction placed on them. What more, he knew that Bo kept thinking that if he had been a better driver they would never have been caught.

It was times like this when he wished nothing more than to be able to provide a better future for his young ones.

He sighed softly, and Bo couldn't have been sleeping as deeply as he thought, for now the young boy opened his eyes to look at him.

"Uncle Jesse?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Didn't I tell ya ta rest?" He said gruffly. Once more masking what he really felt with an air of gruffness.

"Yes sir." Half asleep Bo gave him a confused look. "I'm sorry Uncle Jesse."

Jesse sighed, he hadn't meant to make Bo think he had done something wrong. "Ya ain't got nothing ta be sorry fer Bo, s' just this old fool's thinking."

"Bout what?" Bo's curiosity was peaked, especially since he had been afraid it was something he had done.

"Nothing Bo." Jesse shook his head. "Nothing ya need ta worry about. Now put that head down and git some rest so I don't have ta stand here an' watch over ya, will ya."

Bo nodded, he was not as adept at reading his uncle or anyone else as Luke was, but there was a few things he could tell just as well. "Uncle Jesse."

"Yeah." Jesse turned back to him, and if nothing else the tone of his voice let Bo knew he had been right about what his uncle was so deep in thought.

"Thank ya Uncle Jesse." He mumbled sleepily.

"Whatever for?" Jesse wondered confused.

"Fer taking so good care 'o us." Bo told him, and there was an honesty in his voice and on his face that near brought a tear to Jesse's eye. That was his youngest true to form. When the boy was a mere toddler, there was no doubt about it that he saw his Uncle and older cousin as his heroes, apparently he still did.

"Didn't I just tell ya to rest?" He asked, this time the gruffness was there to hide the fact that he was embarrassed over what his youngest told him.

Bo wasn't paying him anymore attention though, already sound asleep.

"**Some of ya might not believe it, but I know Jesse, an' taking care of them boys was never a chore to him…"**

/Please leave a review, the cricket is hungry.


	16. Back To The Usual

Author's Note: A normal day in Hazzard is when the Duke boys get run into the pond. Not so much normal when one Duke boys get run into the pond, and can't get out of there.

Big thanks to JordynD for beta work and Gray Wolf for all the help.

**Warning**: _The warning is placed here for Vinsmouse, who wanted a spew warning here, claiming it might be a bad idea to drink while reading the funnier parts. So please keep in mind that drinking any kind of beverage while reading this, might be hazzard'ous to the health of your screen. _

Disclaimer: The Duke Boys are not mine, I don't own the Duke boys, nor the General Lee. I promise that once I'm through with them, there will be nothing broken that a trip to Cooter's garage can't fix….

* * *

Chapter 16: Back To The Usual

At least he seemed to have gotten the point Luke thought, taking it more easy over the course of the next few days. If behind the wheel in a race, Bo instinctively knew when to push and when to hold back. Not so much now, but at least he listened to them. Taking care to pay heed to what his uncle or his cousins was telling him. Even though he didn't really want to, he had to admit that taking it easy was serving him better. The next time he went with Luke, while he went to Cooter's, he didn't fall asleep. His body was starting to recover more and more.

Cooter however was quite puzzled, frowning in the direction of the police house.

"I'm telling ya, there's something strange going on here," he told them, shaking his head.

"What do ya mean?" Bo was once more perched on top of the engine as he worked.

"Well, I ain't hardly seen hide nor hair o' either Rosco nor Enos these last few days." Cooter told them. "Rosco's been working Enos around the clock, an they's not even been at their speed traps."

"They ain't catching speeders?" Luke asked baffled, hardly even able to believe it.

Cooter shook his head. "The last thing I heard, they's still looking for that driver." He didn't want to describe it as the one that had caused Bo's crash.

"The one that ran me off the road?" Bo asked and looked quite confused himself as Cooter nodded. "Come on Cooter, Rosco ain't never lost any love fer any o' us Dukes."

"Maybe not, but he sure is out ta git that fella." Cooter said. "Seems he ain't really paying any heed ta anything Boss tells him at the moment. Ya could almost believe that he was a downright honest and hard working police officer."

Bo frowned and Luke glanced at him. The two of them knew well how hard it would be to get anyone when there was no real description or anything to go by. Both of them had expected Rosco to give it up after the first day, to hear that he was still working on it was really surprising.

When they told Jesse about it, he too thought that it sounded just exactly like the Rosco of old. He had once been a mighty fine lawman, even if he had still been Rosco.

That night Bo found it very hard to sleep, he just didn't seem to be able to get comfortable no matter what he did. In the end he could hear Luke throw back his own covers.

"What's wrong Bo?" he asked tiredly.

"I can't sleep." Bo answered.

"Why?" Luke stifled a yawn.

Bo's annoyance took over. "I got a great big dang thing on my leg, why's ya think?" He regretted it as soon as he had said it, but bit his lip as he heard Luke pad over to him and sit down on the mattress beside him.

"What's wrong Bo?" He asked softly.

"I'm sorry Luke, I didn't mean ta snap at ya." Bo mumbled quite a bit ashamed.

"That's okay, now what's wrong?" Luke wasn't thrown off the track that easily.

"Do ya think Rosco will catch him?" Bo turned big eyes to his cousin.

"Are ya scared o' him being loose?" Luke asked, wanting to know exactly why his cousin was so upset.

"Not sure, but it's so strange to have Rosco act like that, I don't rightly know what I think about it." Bo told him honestly.

Luke nodded. "Bo, I strongly doubt that Rosco's gonna stop chasing us, but I think he got shook up there, an' I think it scared him. I think that he's scared cause that there was someone who left ya, not caring one whit what happened. Rosco might want to stick us in jail, but both o' us know he ain't wanting to see us dead or hurt."

"I guess." Bo nodded slowly.

"Think ya can sleep now?" Luke asked.

"Yeah." Bo nodded settling down and Luke smoothed out the blanket over him before heading back to his own bed. Noting the soft and regular breathing of his cousin asleep before he himself drifted off.

* * *

Having spent the larger part of the afternoon working on the General once more Bo offered to head down the street and fetch them all doughnuts while Cooter and Luke finished up.

The General was almost done. Cooter claimed that they'd be able to take him on a test drive at the end of the day, and after that it would only be minor adjustments left. That was until they could afford the new parts they needed to make him once more as fast as he had once been.

For now, Bo would be happy to have him back and to have him running again.

Since Cooter and Luke were both kinda wrapped up in their work, he had decided to make himself useful getting them a snack, and by now he was secure enough to carry a box of doughnuts back with him to the garage.

However for once there was a small crowd of people in the bakery which meant he had to wait for his turn. It took long enough that Luke and Cooter stepped outside to look for him.

Bo grinned as he started to cross the street. He had even gotten a discount. A very kindly old lady that used to offer the three Duke children cookies when they were younger had taken a little off the price telling him how sorry she was for him. While Bo had first objected saying there was no need for that, she had insisted and he had given in.

He still remembered standing outside the window and looking in when they went to town, and so did she. The cookies she gave them would be the ones that broke, and unlike some bakery owners she never threw those away. Instead they were a treat she kept around for small children, and some not so small for he was munching on one of them even now.

He grinned as he saw Cooter and Luke outside the garage, thinking that it was so like Luke to worry.

He saw Enos standing on the side walk as he put the last of the cookie in his mouth and started across the road. He didn't see the look of fear that went across Enos face.

Enos had intended to speak with him and when he saw Bo cross old habits made him look up and down the street.

Further up the street a pale blue sedan came around the corner, and when it saw the blond Duke boy crossing the driver didn't slow down. Instead he pressed down hard on the accelerator and the car shot forward.

Bo heard the roar of an engine suddenly working a lot harder and he looked up. When he realized there was no way for him to get away fast enough on the crutches he froze for a second. Then he started moving, well knowing he didn't stand a chance.

Cooter and Luke had broke out running, but Bo didn't even think about them, they were too far away to help.

Enos on the other side wasn't, Bo had forgotten about him, but suddenly the deputy slammed into him and flung him to the ground.

Thrown backwards Bo had a vague image of a pale blue fender smeared down with orange paint before he hit the pavement.

When Luke and Cooter came up to them Enos was getting to his knees and Bo wasn't moving.

"He was gonna hit 'im!" Eons cried, looking down the road.

Luke nodded kneeling beside his cousin. "After 'im Enos, me an' Cooter'll take care o' Bo."

Enos nodded, glanced at Bo and then he ran for his patrol car, taking of with the red light flashing.

Luke bit his lip worriedly as Bo wasn't moving. There was blood smearing the hair at the back of his head, and a small pool of it on the pavement where he had been lying. A small crowd had formed on the sidewalk where pedestrians had stopped to watch.

"He's unconscious, lets git him ta doc." Luke stated as he scooped him up. Cooter nodded and grabbed the doughnuts, not intending to let them go to waste after all Bo had been through to get them.

Fifteen minutes later in the doctor's office Bo woke up. Sitting up and squeezing his eyes shut as a wave of pain crashed over him.

"Luke!" he cried out and his cousin was with him in an instant.

"I'm here Bo, its okay." Luke soothed him.

"What happened?" Bo asked, a touch of fear still in his voice. "My head hurts."

"Ya got a mild concussion there Bo, or so doc told us, it's gonna be okay." Luke assured him.

"That car…" Bo broke off.

"I know, we saw it." Luke swallowed, once more he had been so close to losing his baby cousin.

"Enos got ya outta the way an' took off after him." Cooter added.

"T'was the same one." Bo told Luke.

"Same one, same one as what?" Luke asked.

"Same one that ran me off the road." Bo went on. "Luke, it was the same colour, an' there was orange paint on the fender. It must've been the same one."

"I'll go call Enos on the C.B an' let him know." Cooter stated as he left the room. Luke nodded, there was no way that could be a coincidence.

Half an hour later Bo had been released from the doc and Luke had helped him back to the garage. They had called Jesse and Daisy to let them know what had happened. Yet it was a call from Rosco that came first.

While Enos hadn't been able to catch him, he had gotten the license number, and as he called to check it out, he had been given the address. A resident in Chickasaw who was known by the neighbors to drive drunk, and often making it over to Hazzard County.

When he had gotten too drunk one time too many his wife had left him for someone in Hazzard county, and even after both she and her new husband had died, he still drove over there in a drunken rage. The first time he hadn't realized what he had done before he sobered up, the second time he had seen Bo on the street and figured that if there was no victim there was no crime.

When he pulled up on his driveway a few hours later, it was only to get a pair of cuffs slapped on his wrists and a short ride to jail where he would be staying for a very long time. Aside from a sentence for drunk driving and attempted murder he also had to pay off Bo's hospital bill.

* * *

"Ya know something Luke," Bo beamed. "It's mighty nice ta have things back to normal."

"Sure is." Luke agreed, Bo was now half an hour with no cast on his leg, and it was time to get him home. He was still on crutches, but it seemed to have made a world of difference just to be rid of the cast.

What's more, they would also be picking up the General from Cooter before they headed home. Jesse had dropped them off, knowing they'd prefer to get back home on their own. The General had been left at Cooter's. When they no longer had to worry about the hospital bill, Jesse had made them put that money to get the car into top shape.

It was what he did to cheer Bo up after the ordeal. While Bo had recovered quickly from the concussion it had been a scare for all of them. One that had set his youngest back a little, forcing him to spend a few more days in complete bed rest.

Now, letting his youngest climb in and out of a car was not something he felt was a good idea. Yet he knew it would be the one thing to make the boy feel the best, and that was what mattered. He trusted Luke to make sure that he didn't get hurt.

Snug in the passenger seat of the General with the crutches out of the way in the back and Luke tearing down the road Bo finally felt as if he could put the whole ordeal with being trapped in the pond behind him.

It was really only one thing needed to make everything exactly as it should be, and as a red light appeared behind him he knew they had it.

Rosco was once more chasing them, and with a laugh he told Luke to lose him before he relaxed in the seat. This was life as he wanted it.

**"Well, I am sure there are a few happy boys in Hazzard right now, Bo and Luke cause all is okay, an' Rosco cause he gets to chase them again, though, isn't that the Hazzard Car Wash up ahead there where they are leading him…?" **

The End

/Please leave a review, the cricket is hungry…


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